


Her

by charlottedrake



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Lauricity - Freeform, President AU, Undercover, Westallen AU, arrowverse, bc i love it, but not really, in a way ?, slowburn, westallen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2019-10-26 19:37:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17752181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlottedrake/pseuds/charlottedrake
Summary: After a very heated election, Iris West was elected President of the United States on November 3 of 2020, with a total of 280 electoral votes.Unhappy with the results, the opposing party decides to play dirty. They decide to hire an escort, Barry Allen, to seduce the newly elected president in hopes of getting her impeached and worse.westallen au





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got an idea and I was curious to see how it would turn out. And I love WA and Lauricity so... Should I continue this?
> 
> Please excuse any grammatical errors x 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_ “United!” _

 

_ “United!” _

 

_ “United!” _

 

The cheers and chants echo throughout the stadium. Her heartbeat sings along with the beat of their chants.

 

Chills run through her spine as the seconds move along. 

 

She smiles.

 

This feeling never gets old. How could it ever get old when there’s always hundreds-  _ maybe thousands-  _ of people chanting because of her, because  _ she  _ inspired them? The rush of excitement, her dancing heart, and the jittery feelings could never get old.

 

“Two-Hundred eighty electoral votes.” She turns to face her running mate, dressed in a gray suit with his shoulder-length hair being pulled back in a neatly combed ponytail. “My, my, Madam President, we surely outdid ourselves!” he smirks as he adjusts his tie. 

 

“Did you really expect any less, Mr. Vice President?” She responds with a gleaming glint in her eyes. “We worked hard.”

 

“Hell yeah, we did!” he exclaims as his hand jolts up for a ‘high-five’, one that she accepts with just as much enthusiasm. “We are going to make these next four years  _ our-” _

 

Before he can finish his sentence, he catches her giving him a pointed look, causing him to simply just clear his throat instead. “You get the point.” he tells her.

 

She chuckles, “Indeed.”

 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the voice-over begins to speak before any of them can continue the conversation. “Please welcome your 2020 President and Vice President-Elect of the United States; Iris West and Cisco Ramon!”

 

The audience erupt with cheers as the two of them link arms and approach the stage together.

 

**. . .**

 

“Tonight,  _ you  _ all made history!” The president-elect continues her victory speech. The crowd roars with excitement with every word that leaves her mouth. “This victory, belongs to  _ you!” _

 

They’re eating everything she tells them without a single doubt. 

 

It angers him. This election was supposed to be his. It  _ should  _ have been  _ his!  _ The glory, the cheers, all the love was supposed to be his!

 

There’s a bitter taste in his mouth as he watches, as the crowd wave hundreds of American flags, through the flat screen television of his house.

 

“A new wave of leadership is near!” she continues. 

 

He glares at her though his screen and scoffs, “What kind of president wears a  _ salmon  _ pantsuit!” he mutters bitterly before roughly chugging down the remainder of his Merlot. 

 

“Divided we fall, so as your president-to-be, I will prioritize our unity. No matter Black, Asian, White, Hispanic, Indigenous, gay, straight, bi, trans! No matter who you are, I promise to be a president for all of you!”

 

Her words fuel his anger, so much to the point that he ends up launching his empty glass onto the crystal-white walls.

 

“We need to do something about her, Merlyn.” he snarls at the television, his eyes glued on his opponent’s victorious smile. “She’s going to ruin everything we had planned for this country.”

 

His right-hand man, Malcolm Merlyn, infamous billionaire CEO approaches him from the side. He wears the same look of disgust as him. “Tell me what you want me to do, sir.” 

 

“We need to get rid of her.” his voice is menacing. “Her and that damn vice president!” 

 

Merlyn nods. “I could have her taken care of in a day, sir.” he responds as he pulls out a flip-phone from one of his pockets. “Just say the word.”

 

The man with hair as white as snow, laughs hysterically. Though, judging by his expression, it was evident that it wasn’t genuine. “If you order her to get killed, it won’t take long for them to put two-and-two together. These kinds of things always come out and I will not go down that way!” he growls, slamming his fists on the coffee table in front of him.

 

Malcolm huffs, the man was drunk; the man was unbearable when he got drunk. “Well, what do you suggest we do, then?” 

 

He scratches his neck as he hums, “We need to take her down from the inside.” Again, he begins to laugh hysterically as he glares at her through the television. “But how, you may ask? How when she has the entire damned nation eating out of the palm of her hand!”

 

Before Merlyn has the chance to answer, a gentle knock on the door interrupts them. He lets out an annoyed huff once he sees one of his servants walk into his study. “What the hell is it Milda, can’t you see I’m in the middle of an important meeting!” he slurs his words aggressively, causing the woman to flinch.

 

“I-I apologize Mr. Darhk,” she fidgets as she avoids his gaze. “You’re-” she looks around to make sure that Mrs. Darhk or their kids are nowhere in sight before continuing. “ _Appointment_ is here.” she whispers the last three words. 

 

A red-head, pale-skinned woman appears from behind, dressed in an icy-blue, provocative dress. 

 

“Ahh  _ Frosty!”  _ the man gives her a predatory grin. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.” 

 

Frosty shrugs as she gives him the most believable smile she can muster. “Well, you know how easily us  _ Barbies  _ can be persuaded when offered a good pay.”

 

Upon hearing those words, a lightbulb went off in the man’s head. “Huh,” he chuckles lightly. “Is that, so?”

 

Frosty nods, “We can never turn down a good offer, Mr. Darhk.” she responds.

 

He turns his head to face Merlyn, with a wide grin on his face. “Our  _ beloved  _ president-elect is single, right?” he asks.

 

Merlyn nods. “Has been for the last two years sir, why?”

 

Darhk explodes in laughter yet again, only this time it appears more genuine. “Say,  _ Frosty.”  _ he begins, turning his attention back towards the woman he called for the night. “Your group of  _ Barbies _ , wouldn’t happen to have any spare  _ Kens _ , now would they?”

 

**. . .**

 

“This is our time to make our country a better place for everyone! To a better future, to a better life for the American people, and most importantly: to a better united! Thank you, everybody!”

 

The two of them circle the stage for a while, waving and shaking hands with the American people. 

 

They rush backstage after the ceremony is done.

 

“Best. Victory. Speech. Ever!” Cisco declares with joy as soon as they’ve left the eyes of the cameras. 

 

Iris raises an eyebrow as she smirks smugly, “You think so?” 

 

“Uh, I  _ know  _ so!” he exclaims as he loosens up his tie a bit. “I’m telling you  _ Madam President _ , that speech is definitely going to be in the history books! Just you wait!”

 

“He’s absolutely, one-hundred percent  _ right! _ ” a familiar, chirpy voice appears from in front. Iris’ smile grows even wider upon seeing one of her closest friends approach her with open arms. 

 

Iris hums suspiciously as she’s engulfed in a tight embrace by her slightly taller, blonde, best friend, and campaign manager. “You’re overestimating me. Keep lying to me like that and I might start to believe it.”

 

The blonde slightly pulls herself away from their embrace, keeping her nicely-manicured hands on Iris’ shoulders, giving her an appalled expression. “Well you better start believing it Iris- uh, I mean  _ Madam President.”  _ she gives her a cute, yet failed attempt of a wink. “Believe me when I say that you are more than what this country-  _ hell,  _ you’re more than what this world deserves.” the blonde pulls her back in for another embrace. “How lucky am I to call you my president?” she says into her shoulders.

 

Iris feels her eyes water at her friends words. “Felicity, you idiot.” she chuckles softly as she gently hits her friend’s shoulders. “You’re making me sob on what’s supposed to be one of the happiest nights of my life.”

 

Felicity instantly pulls away from their embrace, “You’re right, you’re right! I’m sorry.” she giggles as she wipes her own tears. “I’m just so proud of you.”

 

Iris tilts her head, giving her an endearing smile. “I’m proud, too.” she says before turning and pulling her vice president, followed by her best friend into a group hug. “I’m proud of all of us. We did this  _ together.” _

 

“Well damn, now you’re making me want to cry!” Cisco exclaims with a playful tone of accusation. 

 

Their laughters mix in harmony. “No! No more crying!” Iris says, her voice was soft yet full of excitement. “We have many busy months to come _ ,  _ but  _ tonight,  _ we celebrate this victory of ours!”

 

“Oh, Wally and Linda are way ahead of you already!” Felicity tells her as she shows her the snap that Linda had just sent her. “They’ve already started celebrating in the limousine.”

 

“Let’s not keep them waiting, then!”

 

**. . .**

 

“Thirty thousand dollars?!” he questions, in disbelief upon hearing the news one of his roommates and co-workers has brought him.

 

“Per month.” she adds.

 

He can’t believe what he’s hearing. For one, it sounds like a scam. Who the hells offers that kind of money to an escort? He has to sit down. This is too much information to take in.

 

“What kind of job is it, babe?” a sandy-haired woman asks, sounding much more intrigued than he was. “If Barry’s dumbass isn’t smart enough to take the offer, then I’ll do it.”

 

“I’m not sure.” the redhead responds with a shrug, “He wouldn’t say specifically. All I know is that it’s a, and I quote, ‘secret assignment’.” 

 

“Huh.” the slightly older woman says as she folds her arms. Now she’s definitely more than intrigued. “Interesting. Tell the boss man I want in.”

 

The redhead sighs, “He wants a  _ Ken,  _ Lisa, not a  _ Barbie.”  _ she informs her.

 

“Bummer,” Lisa responds as she sits back on the couch next to a very conflicted Barry. “I was already planning on using that money to buy my girlfriend something special.” she winks, causing the other woman’s pale cheeks to turn a rosy color.

 

Barry glances up at them and scoffs, “Can you two please stop being gross for a moment? I’m trying to think here!”

 

“What’s there to think about, Beary-Bear.” Lisa responds causing Barry to roll his eyes at that ridiculous nickname she’s been calling him since they were kids. “We’re broke and struggling to pay rent and put food in our mouths. The wise decision would be to go for it, isn’t that right Cait?”

 

Caitlin shrugs and gives her a remorseful expression, “I mean, it  _ is  _ his choice. We can’t force him to do something he isn’t comfortable with.”

 

Lisa scoffs, “Don’t baby him, he’s a big boy, he can handle it!”

 

Barry huffs, “You’re not making this any easier, you know that?” 

 

She sticks her tongue out at him in response, before rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to their outdated television. She soars through the channels as Barry uses the silence to think. 

 

After a few minutes, she grew bored of flipping channel after channel only to find the same woman’s face plastered everywhere. “Huh, would you look at that. Seems like the country just got its first female president! Nice!”

 

“I’m so glad my vote didn’t go to waste this year!” Caitlin adds.

 

Barry only glances up at the television briefly before shifting his gaze back towards their worn out coffee table that was barely standing. On the worn out coffee table was a pile of papers. Overdue bills after bills were stacked up pretty high. 

 

He sighs, this whole ‘secret assignment’ offer did sound sketchy as hell, too sketchy, even for him. Why couldn’t Caitlin’s client just tell her what exactly the assignment was? Maybe then this would have been an easier decision to make. 

 

For all he knows, he could be writing his own death wish by agreeing!

 

Again, his eyes shift towards the stack of overdue bills and he sighs once more. Then again, not reaching these deadlines could also lead to him, including his friends, writing their own death wish. 

 

It would be nice to have a decent meal on a daily basis, not to mention that he has no intentions of showering with cold water, especially not that winter is approaching. 

 

Ugh. 

 

He  _ hates  _ cold water or anything cold for that matter. 

 

Barry lets out a loud groan as he buries his face in his hands. He hates himself for even uttering the following words “How much money did you say he was offering again?”


	2. Madam President

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh thank you all so much for the feedback on the first chapter, here's the next one!

“Ms. Smoak, what do you have to say about Senator Thawne’s latest tweet accusing President West’s choices for her cabinet of being a result of what he calls a ‘possible political machine’? Is what he saying true?”

 

She watches through the television in the Oval Office, which by the way actually  _ is  _ oval, as her Press Secretary closes her eyes briefly, maintaining a smile on her face despite the journalist’s ridiculous question. For one, everyone knows that Senator Eobard Thawne is nothing but a controversy-seeking, political puppet. The fact that he was being taken serious was just hilariously stupid.

 

“Well first and foremost, to Senator Thawne, I’d recommend for him to hire people to fact-check these so-called  _ accusations  _ of his _.  _ He’s a very rich man, I’m sure he can afford it. Had he done any research, then he would know that President West has chosen very capable and very qualified individuals for her cabinet.” She responds, with each hand placed on each side of the podium. 

 

The echoing sound of the cameras flashing can be heard through the television as Felicity continues, “And if Senator Thawne’s tweets were meant to be a direct attack on my qualifications for this job, given the fact that President West and I have known each other for years, then I can assure him and every single one of you that you have nothing to worry about.” 

 

Iris can’t help but smirk as she watches as her friend’s expression goes smug. She’s about to go off about her qualifications. She hopes Senator Thawne is watching.

 

“Not only do I have a  bachelor's degree in public relations and communications, but I also minored in political science. Not to mention that I’ve-”

 

There’s a knock on her door. 

 

“Sorry to bother you, Madam President.” Her Chief of Staff, Mrs. Waller enters the Oval Office; her posture is straight and tight as she approaches her. “But we have a problem.”

 

Iris furrows her brows as she mutes the television with the tiny remote control on her massive desk, “What happened?”

 

“Hunter Zolomon,” Mrs. Waller pauses for a moment, letting the information sink in. “He’s requesting to see you- no wait, let me rephrase that: he’s  _ demanding  _ to see you.”

 

“What does Zolomon want now?” Iris huffs out. Hunter Zolomon, one of the biggest political sellouts she’s ever encountered Now, he definitely makes Senator Thawne look like a saint. “I thought I made it very clear to him that I have no intention of loosening up any regulations on the coal industry. We don’t need our air turning black!”

 

“It’s not that. Worse, actually. He’s upset that you’re refusing to make amends with Russia. Apparently, he’s  _ requesting  _ to meet with you in order to convince you  _ salvage  _ what’s left of our relationship with them.” Mrs. Waller elaborates, her arms crossed and face hard as she speaks. “He’s been very persistent.”

 

Iris rises from her chair and scoffs, “So what? Don’t tell me you think I should meet with him?” 

 

Waller shrugs, “Maybe meeting with him will stop him from running his mouth on Fox News every morning.” she points out. “For whatever reason, that network has an army of loyal followers, and unless if you want your approval ratings to start dropping by next month with all the crap he’s been feeding them, then perhaps it’s in our best interest to schedule him a meeting.”

 

Before Iris has the chance to respond, her office door is once again opened. 

 

“Somebody needs to shove a foot up Zolomon’s mouth! Have you seen all the crap he’s been talking about us-” Vice President, Cisco Ramon enters her office, unaware of Mrs. Waller’s presence. He’s only a few steps in when he recognizes her. His eyes go wide. “M-Mrs. Waller.” he acknowledges, in a much more professional tone than he had when he entered the Oval Office.

 

“Mr. Ramon.” Mrs. Waller glares at him briefly before turning her attention back towards the president. “As you can see, Madam President, Zolomon’s words are spreading and we all know how gullible the American people can be, especially when it comes to news stories that networks like Fox just  _ love  _ to profit off of.”

 

“How is agreeing to meet with him going to help, though?” Iris’ perfectly sculpted eyebrows rise. “If anything, that’ll just make it seem like we intimidate easily, and next thing you know, he continues using this childish tactic the next time he wants something from me!”

 

“Childish tactic indeed, Madam President, but very effective.” Mrs. Waller responds, as she pulls out an ipad that she had tucked under her arm, typing for a few seconds before turning the screen to face her. “As you can see, you and Zolomon are now trending at #4 on Twitter because according to him, you’re a ‘political terrorist’ who is going to lead the country to its downfall!”

 

“Twitter over exaggerates everything, though.” Cisco points out as walks towards Waller’s ipad, and glances down at the trending topics of the day. “I have no doubt that 65% of those tweets are people clowning Zolomon with memes while the rest of the 35% are those  _ very  _ far-right twitter trolls just being trolls!”

 

“Regardless, Madam President,” Mrs. Waller’s tone is pointed and determined. “We have to do something about him. Like I said, Zolomon’s tactics may be childish, but they can be really effective.”

 

Iris shakes her head in disbelief. One of the not-so good qualities about being President of the United States, is having to deal with the obnoxious politicians who keep trying to manipulate her. Her eyes dart back towards the television behind Amanda Waller and Cisco, where her Press Secretary had just finished her closing statements. 

 

She hums as an idea enters her head.

 

“Let’s hold a press briefing then.” Iris suggests, her attention darting back towards Waller. “I’ll publicly call out Zolomon for his crap and address any other  _ concerns _ Fox News may have.”

 

“Wouldn’t that only just add more fuel to Zolomon’s crap?” Cisco questions, wearing a puzzled expression.

 

“Better than giving into Zolomon’s tantrums.” Iris responds.

 

“Ramon’s right, Madam President. We could hold a press briefing, but I wouldn’t recommend engaging in a public feud with Hunter Zolomon, or any politician for that matter.” Amanda Waller says. “If you even show a hint of anger in your tone, they will rip you apart; the media will pull that racist ‘angry Black woman’ trope that they just  _ love  _ to use, and next thing you know: the midterm elections go to more old, white men.

 

Iris sighs, despite knowing that Waller’s words were true, she still didn’t want to  _ not _ do anything about Hunter Zolomon. “What if instead of calling him out, we just wait for someone to bring it up, and I’ll respond by saying that as president, I have more important things to be worrying about- or something along those lines?” she suggests.

 

“That could work.” Cisco backs her up with a shrug. Waller turns to look at him and he continues, “We could even have her shift the attention towards one of the non-profit organizations that we’ve been funding, how does St. Gabriel’s sound?”

 

A hint of a smirk forms on Amanda Waller’s face, “I like it.” she approves. “This is the kind of thinking I like to see in this office!” She pulls out her phone and unlocks it, before turning to look at Iris. “I’ll make the arrangements, Madam President, you have an hour and a half to prepare.”

 

“I’ll be ready.” she nods firmly.

 

**. . .**

 

“Don’t look too intimidated.” a tall man with dirty-blonde, who’s name he can’t really remember, nudges him. He’s too chirpy for a man that works for the White House Press Corps. “Security will tackle you if you don’t stop shaking.”

 

Barry fidgets nervously with his hands. “I guess I’m just nervous to be meeting the president, that’s all.” he lets out an uncomfortable chuckle.

 

The man pats his shoulder as he chuckles at his response, “If it makes you feel any better man, the president probably won’t even remember your name after today.”

 

Again, Barry lets out an uncomfortable laugh, “Right.” he says, though he knows that unfortunately, his words won’t be true for long. 

 

He took the deal.

 

That explains why he’s currently standing in the White House Press Room, with a fake press ID-Card, and a fancy suit that a man named Malcolm Merlyn gave him upon meeting with him last year, back in November. 

 

It’s been nearly three months since he took that man’s money, guiltily promising him to help him and the man that he’s working for, take down the newly inaugurated President of the United States. 

 

He doesn’t have anything against her, really. He hardly knew anything about her, he wasn’t really that invested in politics these days. Not like Caitlin and Lisa were at least. They were all pumped about the possibility of the country having its first female president prior to the night of the election. Barry, on the other hand, just really didn’t care. 

 

Why should he care about any of those people when they have failed him and a lot of other people in this country?

 

“Yo, dude, I mean it!” Again, the tall man who Merlyn arranged for him to work with, nudges him. “That security guard just gave us a dirty look. Quit shaking like a chihuahua and just be cool.”

 

_ Easy for him to say,  _ Barry thinks to himself,  _ he’s not the one who’s working to help impeach the President of the United States. _

 

“Sorry. I just- idolize her so much.” Barry, once again, lies through his teeth. He has no trouble lying, it’s something he had to do a lot to avoid facing charges when being accused of being an escort by any cop that has pullen him over. Apparently, he’s a very believable guy. “Do you know what time she’s supposed to introduce herself to us? Before or after her press briefing?”

 

Back during his meet-up with Malcolm Merlyn, the billionaire CEO had told him that it would be better if he worked in the White House. Not only would it help him get closer to the president, but when it’s revealed that she had an affair with a White House employee, it will make it easier to get her impeached. He basically wants him to pull an orchestrated version of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

 

“Uhh not sure, man.” The man who’s name he still can’t seem to remember, responds. All he knows is that he’s a friend of Malcolm Merlyn’s son, Tommy Merlyn. That’s how he was able to get this job in the first place, Malcolm used his son’s friend to do it. The man begins to look around the room. “Hold on, let me ask someone- Oh, hey! Sara!” he calls out. “Sara! Over here!”

 

He gets a few glares from the other reporters as continues to call out to a security guard that was passing by.

 

A blonde woman in a ponytail and a suit, rolls her eyes upon hearing her name being called, but stops in her tracks and heads towards them either way. Her arms are folded. “Nate.” she acknowledges, not even bothering to look in Barry’s direction.

 

Nate. That was his name!

 

“Hey, Sara! Long time, no-see girl! How are you? How’s Laurel? Oh, by the way- congratulate her on my behalf for scoring that nomination from President West for Attorney General. If the Senate approves, she might become the youngest A.G. right?” Nate rambles on upon seeing his good friend.

 

Sara glares at him and holds a finger up to her lips, indicating for him to shut up. She glances over at a group of reporters who were suddenly, paying close attention to what Nate was saying.

 

He frowns. “Oops, sorry, I-”

 

“What do you want, Heywood? I’m a busy woman. I have a president to to be protecting.” Sara interrupts him.

 

“Right.” Nate says as he wraps an arm around Barry’s shoulder, pulling him closer towards him and Sara, to avoid any eavesdroppers from listening in. “This is my new pal, Barry, here. We happen to be huge fans of President West and were wondering when we would be able to meet her? Before or after the press briefing?”

 

The blonde glances down at the watch on her wrist as she hums, “Well, given the fact that President West is set to appear in five minutes for her press briefing, it seems like she’ll be meeting with us, White House, employees later.”

 

“Right! Makes sense!” Nate says before releasing Barry from his strong grip, “Oh Barry, this is Sara Lance, my friend from middle school!”

 

Sara smirks, as she extends her hand for Barry to shake. “Friend is a strong term.” she says and he can’t tell if she’s being serious or just joking with Nate. He takes her hand and she grips his firmly. She laughs, “Well, I sure do hope you’re not planning to shake the president’s hand with that weak ass handshake.”

 

“Uh-” Barry stammers, not exactly sure how to respond to that.

 

“Relax Barry, she’s just teasing you.” Nate tells him.

 

“I’m not.” Sara replies instantly, her piercing gaze zoned in on him. “You know, for a reporter, you sure do lack a lot of confidence.” 

 

He’s never had trouble with confidence when it came to his job as an escort, but then again, he had been an escort for a few years now- he’s had time to work on that confidence. This, however, was something totally new to him and could potentially be dangerous if he doesn’t play his cards correctly.

 

“Oh, no- I’m not a reporter-”

 

“Not yet, he means to say!” Nate pats him on the back. “But, according to Mr. Merlyn, he hopes to be one which is why he asked me if I could be his mentor before he launches his career!”

 

Sara hums, her gaze still stuck on Barry. She’s studying him. “How do you know Malcolm Merlyn?” she questions suspiciously.

 

Again, Barry stammers; he didn’t expect to be caught off guard with such a question. “I, uh, used to work at his club house for years and I guess you can say, he became like a paternal figure to me.”  _ Good one,  _ he compliments himself.

 

Sara’s eyes narrow on him as she nods slowly, “Huh, okay.” she replies before looking down at her watch. “Shit! That’s my cue to leave, fellas! President West in about to emerge.”

 

“Bye, Sara!” Nate waves before pulling out his camera from his bag. 

 

Barry feels as if an army of ants were crawling inside of his stomach. He begins to fix his hair, if he plans to catch the president’s attention, then he needs to look attention-worthy! 

 

“Huh.” Nate says after a second of silence, “Funny. Tommy and I used to go to Mr. Merlyn’s club house all the time but I don’t remember seeing you there before? What did you work as?”

 

Like a reflex, he lies once more. “I worked early in the mornings and late at night when the place was empty.” he plays it cool. “I was a janitor, so..”

 

“Oh!” Nate nods, with a smile. “That makes sense!” he seems to have bought it. Barry is honestly stunned at how gullible these rich people can be.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.” the speaker overhead announces.

 

Everyone who was sitting, immediately stands in respect as the President of the United States enters the room, followed by two bodyguards.

 

Barry feels his legs go weak as she walks up the three steps that led to the podium. Her shoulder-length hair is straightened, one side of it being neatly tucked behind her ear, while the other side dances freely on the side of her face. She’s dressed in a high neck, long sleeved, navy coat with a matching skirt that reaches above her knees. The fierceness she has as she talks is completely captivating.

 

He watches as she speaks, not really understanding much about what she’s talking about, but he tries to keep up. Oh well, it’s not like he was hired to actually be a reporter.

 

Minutes later, after addressing everything she had to say, she asks the reporters if they had any questions for her.

 

Immediately, dozens of hands jolt up. 

 

President West scans the room briefly before selecting someone by pointing at them.

 

“Patty Spivot, Washington Daily. Madam President, these past few days, U.S. Foreign Policy Expert, and Governor of Texas. Hunter Zolomon, has done several interviews, all in which he has accused you of being a ‘political socialist’, a ‘commie lover’, and has said that your presidency will lead to our country’s downfall. Is there anything that you’d wish to say to Governor Zolomon?” a thin, blonde reporter asks.

 

It is evident, based on everyone’s bitter, yet intrigued expressions, that this Patty reporter had asked the question that everyone wanted to ask. 

 

Everyone’s eyes, his included, are glued onto President West. That was a good question and such a good question can only lead to a juicy answer. 

 

Nate nudges him and whispers, “Make sure you get everything she says.”

 

He nods.

 

“With all due respect, Ms. Spivot, I’d like to make no comment on the matter, given the fact that I have not spent much time worrying about Governor Zolomon’s opinion on me.” President West responds with a polite smile, her eyes shifting from the reporter that had asked the question, towards everyone in the room. “I’d rather spend my time thinking about much more important things, like the future of our beloved country. Which is why my associates and I have decided to donate $300,000 dollars to St. Gabriel’s Children’s Hospital, so that every child currently in that hospital will be able to afford the very expensive surgeries that they will need, in order to live. Our children are the future and it is important we can guarantee them a bright one. Which is why I encourage you all to donate as well. Our children deserve a better future, too.”

 

The sounds of cameras flashing fill the room as she speaks. The president then asks for one more question, which is once again, followed by dozens of hands flying up.

 

“That was smart.” Nate leans over to whisper.

 

Barry gives him a puzzled expression, “What was?” he asks, given his lack of attention towards the whole thing.

 

“Her answer. Even those money-loving politicians that hate her can’t publicly express their disdain towards her using that money for charity, because then it’ll make  _ them  _ look like the bad guys.” Nate laughs as he continues to take note in his pad. “Well played, Madam President, well played.”

 

“Huh,” Barry’s hit with realization, “I didn’t think of it that way? So did she only donate to charity just to get score points with the press? Isn’t that kind of fucked up?”

 

Nate shrugs, “Not sure what her intentions were, but like I said, it’s smart. This is going to work out in her favor. And for the children in St. Gabriel’s, of course.” he responds.

 

Barry turns his attention towards her again and studies her for a bit. He may not have known much about President West due to his lack of interest, but he had assumed that if Lisa and Caitlin loved her, then she must be a promising individual. However, if she had just used her donation towards St. Gabriel’s as a political ploy to save her own ass, then that didn’t sound like someone who promised to put the people first, right? 

 

Maybe Malcolm Merlyn actually does have the country’s best interest in mind; that  _ is  _ what the older man told him when he was explaining to him why he wanted to get President West impeached, though back then he hadn’t necessarily bought it. But perhaps, he had a point?

 

Perhaps, there was more to President West than meets the eye.

 

**. . .**

 

“Excellent work, Madam President.” Mrs. Waller appears from the corner, joining her as they walk down one of the White House’s long hallways on their way to introduce themselves to the White House staff. “You’ve been getting nothing but praise from the people and politicians all across the country, even those on the right. I say we played our cards well.”

 

Iris keeps her attention ahead, not turning to look at her Chief of Staff, as they walk towards the State Dining Room to greet the employees. “All that matters is that I’m keeping my promise to them.” she says. She still really wishes they had let her publicly call out Zolomon on his crap, though.

 

“Right.” Amanda Waller responds. The sound of their heels tapping against the floor echo throughout the hallway as they approach the door that leads to the dining room. “Kudos for that, too.”

 

She pushes the door open, revealing a packed room of White House employees, each with their respective uniforms. They all cheer upon her entering. Given the fact that these first couple of days in office have been hectic, Iris didn’t have the opportunity to introduce herself to the staff until now.

 

She gives them a friendly smile as she glances around the room, seems like she’s the last one to arrive. Even her vice president was already here.

 

Felicity approaches her with a glass of wine in hand, “Everyone, the President of the United States!” she introduces her, and once again, the staff cheer and clap for her. “Woo! I’ll never get tired of saying that! By the way, you were great out there! I was absolutely captivated by the way you spoke!” 

 

“Speak for yourself, you really put Senator Thawne in his place for me today,” Iris nudges her playfully. “I appreciate that. I chose well for my Press Secretary.”

 

Felicity shrugs, “Eh, guy’s an asshole; I would’ve put him in his place even if I wasn’t your Press Secretary!” 

 

Iris snorts, patting her friends shoulder, before moving along to greet and shake hands with each and every one of her employees. 

 

She recognizes a few familiar faces as kind words and firm handshakes are exchanged. Some of the staff she’s already met throughout the week. 

 

All was going well, the staff were being nothing but lovely to her, she was engaging in quick conversations with them, and overall, she was having a good time meeting her staff.

 

Everything was going fine.

 

That is, until, she feels herself crash into someone, pushing her back slightly, causing her to almost lose her balance. That’s not all, though; she also feels as an ice-cold liquid drips down the inside of her shirt.

 

Iris gasps and the room goes silent as they witness the scene take place in horror. She looks up from her soaked shirt and sees a tall, semi-thin man wearing a terrified expression and holding an empty glass in his right hand.

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

 

**.**


	3. Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took about a month to update... thank you all for the nice comments, I look forward to reading your thoughts for this next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

_ “The president, it isn’t easy to catch her attention. I mean, the woman is literally a workaholic- so if you’re going to do this, then you’re going to have to do this right. When you introduce yourself to her- make it memorable; be someone who she won’t forget right away.” _

 

Originally, Barry had planned to ‘accidentally’ bump into President West, have her spill _her_ drink on him in front of everyone. In his mind, he figured that she’d feel guilty, offer him some clean clothes, and that things would spiral on from there.

 

So he made his move. He walked towards her as soon as he noticed she had picked up a fresh, glass of wine. The plan wasn’t so hard. All he had to do was get her to spill her drink on him. Not too hard. He could do this.

 

He  _ thought  _ he could.

 

Clumsy as ever, Barry did the exact opposite of what he intended to do. As he made his way towards her, he panicked, and ended up pushing her a bit too hard, causing her to spill the drink on herself.

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” his voice pitches as he gazed in horror at what he had done. Her very expensive navy coat was now soaked in the red liquid. No doubt they’re probably going to make him pay for that!

 

Well, at least this was quite a  _ memorable _ way to introduce himself. She definitely won’t be forgetting him soon. 

 

“Here, let me help you!” he begins to pat his pockets within his jacket, in search of the handkerchief that he could’ve sworn he had seen earlier when he was given the fancy suit. “I know I have a handkerchief in here somewhere-”

 

The president puts a hand up and gestures it awkwardly as she attempts to figure out what to say. Her jaw has clenched slightly. “Don’t- that won’t be necessary!” her eyes shift from her soaked coat towards the towering man in front of her. His pupils have dilated and Iris swears she sees the trepidation in his eyes. She sighs, suddenly feeling bad for the guy. He must be new. “Seriously, it’s fine. It’s just a coat.”

 

The room had grown dead silent; everyone’s eyes were on them. Everyone was watching, eager to know what’s to come next.

 

Barry’s mouth opens, but no words come out. He’s in shock. He doesn’t know what to say.

 

Iris grows uncomfortable as a result of the silence; the man looks extremely creepy in her eyes. He’s just standing there with his eyes glued onto her and his mouth practically hanging open. She clears her throat to counter the uncomfortable silence. “Well, I should probably get out of the clothes-” she trails off as she begins to walk away from the weird man that had been gawking at her.

 

Seeing her begin to walk away broke Barry out of his transe. Again, he panics, and acts without thinking first: to stop her from getting away too soon, he reaches out and grabs her hand, mildly pulling her back a bit. “Wait! I’m- I’m really sorry.” 

 

This time it was Iris, the one with the wide eyes. She looks at him as if he’s grown a second head. A few gasps can be heard echoing throughout the room because, how dare he make such a bold move, especially on someone incredibly important. 

 

Upon noticing the baffled expression on her face, he immediately realizes his mistake. Instantly, he lets her hand go and is struck with embarrassment. “I-, sorry. Again.” he stammers, nervously. From the corner of his eye can see two, buffed men in tuxedos beginning to approach him.  _ Oh god, he couldn’t have messed this up already?! _

 

Iris holds a finger up, signaling the two men to stop, before folding her arms and scowling at the man before her. “You are certainly causing quite the scene here, Mr-?” 

 

“Allen!” Barry is too quick to reply, causing the woman’s eyebrows to rise. “Uh- Barry Allen.” he corrects himself, trying to sound a lot more composed than he actually feels. “It’s uh, an honor to meet you Madam President.” he awkwardly extends his hand out for her to shake.

 

Instead of meeting him halfway though, her brown eyes only dart towards it momentarily, before they make their way back towards him. “And tell me, Mr. Allen, what exactly brings you to the White House. Call it a gift of mine, but something tells me that you’re not from around here?” 

 

Barry laughs nervously, suddenly very hyper aware of everyone’s attention on him. “I’m uh, a member of the White House Press Corps. I’m kind of a new employee around here, it’s my first day a-actually.” 

 

Iris’ eyes narrow on him as she slowly nods. For some odd reason, she has an inkling that this man wasn’t telling her the whole truth. She hums.

 

However, before she can respond, Barry continues to ramble on. “I’m truly sorry, Madam President. It was definitely not my intention to cause you to spill your drink on yourself! I just wanted to come introduce myself. I’m a really,  _ really  _ big fan of yours and I don’t know, I guess I was thinking about our future together- professional future, is what I meant to say! Since I’m such a huge,  _ huge  _ fan of you and uh, everything you stand for. I guess, the point that I’m trying to get at is that I admire you, a lot, and uh also that I would love to write an article about.. you.” 

 

“Oh my god, I’ve found the male version of me!” he hears someone utter suddenly in the background, though he pays no attention to the comment. He’s much too focused on his hammering heart; he really wants nothing more than for the ground to swallow him whole in that moment.

 

Iris hums again, “Is that so, Mr. Allen?” she questions, eyeing him suspiciously. For some reason, she doesn’t believe a word he’s just said. “Pray, do tell, which one of my stances would you say you can relate with the most?”

 

Barry scratches the back of his neck, “Phew, where do I begin?!” he chuckles nervously. Maybe he should’ve done more research on the woman that he’s been paid to help take down. Had he done that, then perhaps he wouldn’t have found himself in this very awkward situation. He pauses for a moment to think:  _ she’s a democrat, right?  _ He doesn’t know muchs regarding politics, but he recalls seeing an article headline once that read: ‘ _ DEMS WANT TO TAKE AWAY OUR GUNS’.  _ So perhaps, President West did so, as well?

 

“Well, uh, out of the many, many stances that I agree with you on, Madam President, I have to say that I especially admire your stance to repeal the second amendment. A wise choice, might I say.”

 

Upon hearing a few snorts from the observing crowd and judging by the look on the president’s face, Barry figures that probably wasn’t the best answer he could’ve come up with. 

 

Iris scoffs slightly, “Well isn’t that news to me?” she lets out a humorless chuckle as she shakes her head in disbelief. “I suggest you do proper research on me first, Mr. Allen, before you can even think about writing an article about any of my stances. For now, though, I suppose you could write about how you caused the President of the United States to spill her glass of wine on herself.” 

 

Yeah, Barry totally wouldn’t mind if the ground decided him to swallow him whole any time now. Now would be a very good moment to do so, actually. 

 

“Good day, Mr. Allen.” is the last thing she says to him, before turning around and exiting the room. Unfortunately for him, the ground makes no effort to swallow him whole and he is instead left standing there like an idiot, in front of everyone. 

 

So much for a good first day at work!

 

**. . .**

 

“Nate, your friend is an absolute idiot.” Sara says as she slurps a huge chunk of her smoothie down.

 

Barry clears his throat, “Uh, I’m right here, you know?” he mutters as he twiddles with the straw of his smoothie. He’s really trying to forget how much of a fool he made himself to be earlier and Nate’s friend is making it kind of hard for him to do so. Truthfully, he wants nothing more than to head home and call it a day already, however Nate suggested that the three of them go out to eat as soon as Sara’s shift finished. After what had happened, Barry wasn’t in the mood for anything, but Nate insisted; besides, he didn’t feel like going home on an empty stomach.

 

“Nate’s friend, you are an absolute idiot.” Sara rephrases her words, this time looking at Barry when she speaks.

 

Barry rolls his eyes as she continues, “You really made the president spill her own drink on herself, I mean, who does  _ that?!”  _ she snickers, completely satisfied by the entertainment that she had witnessed not too long ago.

 

“I  _ know.  _ I was there!” Barry huffs in annoyance. Well, at least others were enjoying this night, because he certainly isn’t.

 

Nate pats his back, giving him a sympathetic expression. “Oh, c’mon Sara, give him a break. I’d make a fool of myself too if I was in the presence of someone as stunning as President West.” he points out. 

 

Sara scoffs, “Speak for yourself, Heywood! I’ve spent the last few days working with madam hot pants and I haven’t humiliated myself the way your pal did earlier.”

 

“I have a name, you know.” Again, Barry mutters. 

 

“Yeah, yeah whatever Bart.” He side-eyes the two of them as she brushes him off, only to continue talking about how attractive she finds the president. 

 

Barry shakes his slightly and scoffs; surely they know that he didn’t act like a total idiot in front of  everyone just because he found the president attractive, right? That’s ridiculous. Not that he doesn’t find her attractive, because she definitely is by a long shot; she’s probably one of the most attractive Presidents of the United States, especially compared to that last guy that was in charge. 

 

No. It wasn’t that. If he’s to be honest, Barry thinks it was his own nerves and guilt that made him act like an ‘absolute idiot’, as Sara had put it. This lifestyle, the fancy suits and fancy people, it isn’t him. And seeing the President of the United States up close, so elegant and poised, it scared him. This was the woman that he was supposed to help take down; how is he supposed to remain calm in front of her?

 

Barry lets out a soft sigh as his gaze gets lost within the reddish foam of his cherry smoothie. He’s only human, it’s normal for him to feel a little guilty about doing this. He actually has morals, well more than Lisa does, at least- and that’s saying a lot. But, money talks. And the money that Mr. Merlyn had offered him to take on this ‘assignment’ a few months ago, was pretty damn convincing. 

 

Well, at least he feels comfort over the fact that President West didn’t leave a good first impression on him. Maybe if she’s as bad as Mr. Merlyn made her out to be, then Barry has no reason to feel  _ too _ guilty for accepting this ‘assignment’, right? 

 

Barry sighs again, he really,  _ really  _ hopes that President West does turn out to be as bad as Merlyn said she was.

 

“Aw dude, stop moping! It’s okay! Tomorrow will be another day!” Nate exclaims as he squeezes his shoulder, shaking him a little too roughly. “Oh, but you might want to spend the rest of the night researching as much as you can about President West, though.” he adds in a more serious tone.

 

Sara nods in agreement as she twirls a golden french fry between her fingers, “You should probably also stay about five feet away from President West, if you ever see her again.” she tells him. “Wouldn’t want you spilling another drink on her, would we?” she gives him a smug expression.

 

Barry rolls his eyes for what feels like the tenth time that night. Well, he knows for sure that he’s not looking forward to interacting with Sara any time soon. “ _ Right. Thanks, guys.”  _ he replies without a hint of genuineness in his tone.  

 

**. . .**

 

“Mayor Queen of Starling has been very vocal to the press about the water crisis they’re currently facing.” Cisco says. He, Amanda Waller, and Iris were currently sitting on the very plush, white couches of the oval office, discussing what their first move should be. “I’d say we should tackle this issue first before taking on even bigger ones.”

 

“Well, I have to disagree, Mr. Ramon.” Amanda responds, her tone sounding as unassailable as it always does. “The war Bialya is brewing and I’d say we focus all of our attention there before it gets out of hand, if you know what I mean.” 

 

“Are you suggesting I bomb a country during my second week in office?” Iris questions, feeling completely baffled by the suggestion.

 

“You wouldn’t be the first to do so, Madam President.” Waller responds, her expression stiff, as if they weren’t discussing whether or not Iris should order a bomb attack on another country. “It’s simple; we drop the bombs, kill the rebels, and there’s no war. We’ll prevent it from spreading to other countries and possibly save a bunch of lives.”

 

“Except the ones we’ll bomb to death.” Iris scoffs in disbelief. She always knew that being president would come with tough choices like these, but she didn’t expect to deal with one so drastic this soon. She didn’t want to resort to killing people unless if she knew she had no choice but to do so. 

 

Iris takes a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing, “Look, I know that there are talks about a civil war in Bialya, but as of now, there is no war; and I can’t just bomb an entire country just because there’s high tensions! A lot of countries do. I think we should wait a bit, see how it all plays out- for all we know, there might not even be a war.”

 

“Yeah, I agree with President West.” Cisco backs her up. “Neither sides have made a move yet. I think we should focus on fixing the water crisis in Starling, before Mayor Moira Queen ends up painting us as the villains to the media.”

 

Waller glares at the two of them for a brief moment before clearing her throat. “I understand war is a difficult concept to grasp, Madam President.” she speaks, her attention on Iris, who was sitting across the elegant coffee table that stood between the couches in the Oval Office. Amanda then stands, collecting her belongings as she does. “So I will give you some time to think this through. You have until the end of the week to make your decision. I hope you choose based on the overall good of our country, rather than your morals. Excuse me.”

 

With that being said, she swerves around the couches, leaving Iris and Cisco sitting there with similar expressions of contemplation on their faces.

 

Cisco is the next one to stand, “Well, I’m gonna be honest.” he sighs as he does do. “She makes a very compelling argument, but- Starling hasn’t had any clean water for three years now. I think we should focus more on current issues rather than potential future ones.” He shrugs, as his eyes meet hers. “But I guess it’s your call, Madam President.” 

 

Iris sighs, “Seems like it.”

 

“Yup.” Cisco says as he picks up his blazer from the couch. “Best of luck. I should be on my way, I have a meeting with the senate.” He puts on his blazer as he walks towards the door.

 

Iris doesn’t respond, her mind still deep in thought as he makes his way out of her office.

 

“Oops! Sorry Cisco- uh, I mean Mr. Ramon. Hope I didn’t hit you with the door?” 

 

“You’re good, Fel-  _ Ms. Smoak.”  _ Cisco tells her with a reassuring smile as he lets her pass, before exiting the office. As it turns out, it can be pretty tough to act formal around people who you’ve been close friends with for years. 

 

“Hey.” Iris watches as her blonde friend approaches her, sitting next to her, as she holds an ipad in her hands. When Felicity notices that Iris responds to her with a less-enthusiastic greeting, she comments, “Bad meeting, huh?”

 

Iris lets out a heavy breath, “Something like that.” she responds before shaking her head slightly, “But nevermind that, did you do it?”

 

“Oh, yes I did!” Felicity exclaims as she places the ipad on her lap, making a few taps, before handing it over to Iris. “I asked my friends in the I.T. to run a background check on him and well, I don’t know what you were expecting them to find, but the guy’s squeaky clean.” 

 

Iris scrolls through the information of that White House Press Corps Journalist,  _ Barry Allen,  _ at least, that’s the name that it says on the screen; she finds nothing imperfect about him on this list. “I don’t know if I was expecting to find anything either, but-” she pauses, not wanting to sound paranoid.

 

Felicity’s brows furrow, “But what?” she questions.

 

Iris studies the image of the man who caused her to spill her drink on her two days ago. He cleans up nice: white teeth, nice clothes, and his hair isn’t slicked back, which is always a good sign! But still, something feels weird. 

 

Iris shifts her attention from his photograph towards her blonde friend, “Don’t you find it weird?” she asks.

 

“Find what weird?”

 

“Our meeting.” The dark-haired woman elaborates. “It felt as if I was on that show,  _ Punk’d. _ ”

 

“Huh.” Felicity thinks out loud. “So what, do we think that Mr.” she looks down at her iPad and reads off the screen, “ _ Hudson University Graduate  _ is a spy.” she looks baffled by this and does a quick double take at the screen. “Hudson University Graduate?! Uh- yeah, he’s totally a spy, there’s no way a Hudson University Graduate wouldn’t be well informed on your political stances! Does he look Russian to you?!”

 

“Woah, woah!” Iris says, placing a hand on her friends to get her to calm down. “I was thinking more along the lines of him being an undercover journalist, but now I’m starting to think that we should definitely hire someone to investigate-”

 

“Really? Consider it done, I actually know this really great-”

 

“Felicity.” Iris cuts her off with an awkward smile, “I was kidding on that last part.”

 

“Oh.” Felicity pouts as her shoulders slump. “Bummer.” She turns to look at Iris again, “But seriously, if this Barry Allen guy gives you a weird vibe, then I think we should trust your instinct and keep a close eye on him.”

 

President West hums, “What do you suggest?”

 

“I know you’re a very busy woman, but do you think you could squeeze in a quick meeting with him anytime soon?”

 

Iris looks at her as if she’s grown a second head, “Why would I do that?” 

 

“What do you mean ‘why’?! You always brag about how good you are at reading people! So why not do the same to him?” she explains. 

 

Iris scoffs as she shakes her head, “That seems like a little too much, don’t you think?” Sure she was a bit wary of this Barry Allen guy, but not to this extent. “I mean, for all we know Barry Allen might just be a clumsy journalist who is very ignorant when it comes to politics. I mean, have you seen Fox News?!” she tries to joke, but ends up letting out another heavy sigh after seeing the pointed look her blonde friend gave her. “Maybe we’re just over analyzing a meaningless encounter?”

 

“Maybe.” Felicity shrugs. “But the fact that you, Ms.  _ ‘I’m not good with names’,  _ already have  _ his  _ name engraved in your thoughts, is pretty worrisome to me.”

 

Iris brings her hands up to her face, “I just don’t want to mess being president up.” she confesses. 

 

“Well then, I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry, wouldn’t you agree?”

 

**.**


	4. The Oval Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse any grammatical errors!!!
> 
> Enjoy x

“Ugh, why is it so cold!” Barry shivers as he and Nate finish showing the White House security guards their reporters’ credentials. 

 

“We’re in Washington D.C. dude?” Nate gives him an odd look before shaking his head briefly.

 

“I’m just not a big fan of the cold weather.” Barry tells him as they pass through the entrance. “Or anything cold, really.”

 

They enter the very spacious house, in the West Wing, greeted by two more guards at the front, as they begin to head towards their offices. When Barry was told there would be offices, he had assumed that every single one of them would get an individual office, because well, why not? It’s not like they didn’t have the space to do that. To his surprise though, it turns out the ‘offices’ that Mr. Merlyn had informed him about was nothing but a room full of many,  _ many  _ desks crowded next to one another. Not to mention that people are always moving in there, so it’s needless to say that his new ‘office’ isn’t as spacious as he had imagined it. It’s as if he were back in high school all over again.

 

Nate snorts at his response.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh nothing, it’s just the more I get to know you the more I realize what polar opposites you and President West are.” Nate says. “Heard she loves the cold. Sara always says she has the temperature really low in the Oval Office.”

 

Barry pauses for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. That was such a weird thing for him to say. Now that he thinks about it, Barry wonders if Nate might know that he’s actually not a real reporter, but rather some random escort on Merlyn’s payroll who was sent here to get the president impeached. Does he know?

 

Nate notices that Barry had stopped in his tracks. He turns around to face him, giving him a puzzled look. “What?” he questions.

 

Barry clears his throat awkwardly before resuming, “Uh nothing, it’s just… I highly doubt I’m the only employee here who hates the cold as well.”

 

Nate hums, “True, but you are the only employee here who’s on President West’s hit list so far.” 

 

“Wait, what hit list? What are you talking about?” Barry’s eyebrows go up, taken aback by the dirty-blonde’s words. He’s not sure if he should be intimidated by that or not.

 

“I don’t know.” Nate shrugs. “That’s just something Sara said. Apparently, she overheard the Press Secretary telling some I.T. guy to look into you or something like that.”

 

Barry’s face goes pale. “What?!” he croaks out, his throat suddenly dry. He hasn’t even been here a week and he’s already screwed up!

 

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it man. I’m sure she won’t find anything but just boring picture of you in those hideous uniforms that Malcolm makes his club house employees wear!” Nate says as he pats his back twice. Nate gives him a confused expression when he feels how stiff Barry has gotten. “Hey, you alright man?” 

 

“Uh, yeah-” Barry spots the men’s restroom across the hall. “I just need to make a quick call to my roommate to remind her to take her pills!”

 

“Okay…” Nate responds, exaggerating the length of the word as Barry dashes towards the restroom. 

 

He enters, locking the door behind him, and pulls out his phone. In a flash, he dials the number that Merlyn had given him to use only when he screws up. By definition, he doesn’t necessarily know what ‘screws up’ means to him, but this seems like a pretty alarming case. 

 

After the third ring, he picks up. “What do you want?” his voice sounds deadly. “I told you to never call this number unless you screwed up, you better not have screwed up already Bart!”

 

Barry doesn’t even take a moment to be annoyed with Merlyn, once again, butchering his name. He’s too paranoid to care at the moment. “She’s running a background check on me, either she knew the one you gave me was fake or she just really doesn’t trust me.”

 

Merlyn chuckles, “Really? That’s what you’re calling me about?” 

 

When he says it like that, it makes Barry feel kind of stupid now. “What?” he asks in disbelief.

 

“Trust me, she won’t find anything bad on you.”

 

“Are you sure? Because in case you forgot, prostitution isn’t something that’s necessarily legal around here.” 

 

Again, Merlyn chuckles. “So naive,” the man appears to mutter to himself before raising his voice, “Like I said, don’t worry Bart. I took care of making sure you were squeaky clean. All you need to worry about is getting the president to trust you. At least be a distraction for her now, we wouldn’t want her making any reckless decisions.”

 

“Reckless?” Barry questions. At times like these, he wishes he was at least somewhat educated in politics, because he doesn’t have a clue what Merlyn is referring to. 

 

“Yes, Bart, keep the president distracted. The more distracted she is, the less time she has to make any incautious decisions that will ruin our great country.” Merlyn tells him.

 

“Oh. Okay.” Barry responds, unsure on how to respond to that. 

 

“Now get out there and make me proud, Bart.” Merlyn tells him, in what’s supposed to be an encouraging tone, but actually sounded kind of frightening.

 

“Oh, actually it’s Barry-” he tries, only to hear the sound of the phone line dying in return. He sighs, “Alright then.” At least he hasn’t screwed up yet. He’s not ready to say goodbye to his hot showers and he’s pretty sure that Lisa isn’t either. 

 

**. . .**

 

“Waller, I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t be discussing this potential war in Bialya until we knew for certain that there is, in fact, going to be a war.” Iris whispers, irritated, that her chief advisor hadn’t kept her part of their agreement. 

 

“Yeah, I thought we were going to talk about the water crisis in Starling, why are General Lane and all these other military advisors here?” Cisco asks, appearing just as confused as Iris. His eyes then widen upon seeing Malcolm Merlyn, infamous CEO of Merlyn’s Technologies of Arms and Fire, or for short: M.T.A.F. “And why is one of our opponent’s donors here?”

 

Iris turns and spots him, but before she can send a very unimpressed look towards Amanda’s way, Malcolm has already made his way towards them. “Madam President!” the man dressed in an over-priced suit, exclaims. “What an honor to finally meet you!” he gives her a toothy grin, one that sends a chill through her spine. 

 

He extends his hand, one that she takes, shaking his hand firmly. “Mr. Merlyn.” she acknowledges him before side-eyeing Cisco for a brief second. “What brings you to the White House?”

 

“I invited him, I hope that’s alright with you Madam President.” General Sam Lane joins in, patting Malcolm’s back a few times as a greeting. “I figured, since we were about to give an interview regarding the war in Bialya, why not have the country’s best arms producers over to weigh in his thoughts?”

 

Iris blinks. She’s not sure whether she heard him correctly. “Oh, well, I apologize general. I wasn’t aware that we were allowing someone with absolutely no military knowledge or experience, to join.” she says, taken aback by the news. 

 

However, the two men simply bursted out laughing as if she had just told the funniest joke in the world. “Ah, she’s humorous!” Malcolm Merlyn exclaims as he wipes a tear from his eye. “I already like her better than that last guy!”

 

“Agreed Mr. Merlyn.” General Sam Lane chuckles, before turning to face Iris. “We’ll be waiting for you in your office for the interview to start, Madam President.”

 

Iris gives them a nod in response, waiting for them to enter her office where the rest of the military advisors were waiting, before turning her attention towards Amanda. “Seriously? Malcolm Merlyn?” she scoffs. 

 

“I can smell his money hunger all the way from here.” Cisco mutters, he too, wasn’t too fond of the CEO’s presence. 

 

“He requested to be here.” Amanda responds, giving Iris a look that told her not to make a big deal of the fact that her former opponent’s best friend and number one donor was here. “So did General Lane. I thought it was a good idea, it’ll make you look unbiased by having a bipartisan group of people here with you for this interview.”

 

“Yeah, well Malcolm Merlyn has nothing to do with politics, so I’m going to call security to escort him out.” Iris says, about to do just that.

 

Waller pulls her back before she can walk away. “I’d say it’s too late for that, Madam President.” she then gestures towards the incoming journalists and reporters. “We don’t want to cause a scene in front of the cameras.”

 

Iris huffs as the crowd of reporters begin to greet her as they head towards the Oval Office. She greets them with a polite smile and a head nod. 

 

Her smile falters when she sees the man who made her spill her drink on herself, approach. His eyes widen upon noticing her, he hadn’t expected to see her until the interview started in like 20 minutes.

 

He stops in his tracks, right in front of her, allowing for the rest of the journalists to walk past him. “Madam President, I-”

 

“Mr. Allen.” her eyes narrow on him. She still hasn’t heard from Felicity about this guy’s background check. 

 

His eyes widen, surprise at the fact that she remembers his name. Well, at least now he knows that he did a good job at leaving a memorable impression on her. “Again, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for making you spill your drink on you. Really, that wasn’t my intention-”

 

“Hey wine man!” a familiar voice interrupts him. He looks in the direction of the voice and sees Nate’s friend, Sara, dressed in her uniform, appearing from behind the president. “Please hold any questions you may have for President West until the interview starts.” she tells him, her tone was intimidating.

 

Barry shakes his head, “Oh no, no, no. I wasn’t asking any questions. I was just trying to apologize for-”

 

“Inside.” Sara demands. Despite her neutral tone, it was still intimidating enough to get Barry to obey. 

 

“Yes ma’am.” he says, before stealing one last look at the president, as he reluctantly enters the office. Seriously, how was he supposed to get her to trust him when he can’t even talk to her without secret service being down his neck.

 

She waits for him to walk inside of the Oval Office before saying, “You know, President West, I doubt anyone would miss him if you were to fire him.” Iris turns to face her, before she continues, “If he makes you uncomfortable or anything, just let me know, I’ll have him out in no time.”

 

Iris shrugs, “Why would I ask you to do that?” she questions. “He hasn’t done anything.” Though she is suspicious of who he is, she doesn’t necessarily have any proof that shows him to be a spy or someone dangerous. 

 

“Well, he  _ did  _ make you spill your drink on yourself.” Cisco points out. 

 

“He’s got a point.” the blonde secret service woman, Sara, adds. 

 

She’s not going to lie, it  _ is  _ a good point actually, though, it’s not really a reason to fire someone. Not for her at least.

 

“Now, what kind of person would I be if I made someone lose their job over a clumsy mistake?” Iris remarks. “I’m not that petty.” Besides, Felicity hasn’t brought her back the man’s background check yet, so it’s still too early for her to make assumptions. 

 

Sara hums, “Fine. But if at any moment you feel uncomfortable or unsafe around him, just let me know and I’ll have him out in the streets in no time.” 

 

“Noted.” Iris responds as she turns to eye Malcolm Merlyn. In that moment, an idea pops in her head. “Actually, how about you escort out another man who actually  _ does  _ make me uncomfortable?” she says, only partially joking.

 

Before Sara can ask who, Waller intervenes, “No.” she says simply. 

 

Cisco snorts and Iris sighs, “It was worth a shot.” she says.

 

**. . .**

 

Out of all the people he expected to see here, not once did it occur to Barry that the man who hired him for this assignment, Malcolm Merlyn, would be present for this interview. His jaw nearly dropped to the ground upon seeing him sitting on the white, plush, couches talking to an older, bald man.

 

Was he here to spy on him? To make sure he wasn’t screwing their plan up?

 

Barry wasn’t sure. 

 

With the exception of the flashing cameras, the room goes silent when the President and Vice President enter the Oval Office. The men and women rise from the couches to greet them and not even a minute later, the cameras start rolling. 

 

They begin to talk about the happenings in Bialya: the whispers of a potential civil war rising, the rebels, the minister, and how a war could affect other countries, like the United States.

 

Barry’s actually shocked at how much he wasn’t aware of. He really needs to start listening to Caitlin and Lisa when they tell him to pay attention to the news. 

 

Several moments throughout the interview, he catches Mr. Merlyn’s eye, who only gives him a sly smile in response. And then there’s other times where he catches President West’s eyes, who only glares at him in response. Needless to say, he can feel some pretty heavy tensions in this room; and a lot of them seem to be directed towards him. 

 

When they start permitting questions from the reporters, Nate is the first to get called on. And since he’s sitting right next to him, both the president and Merlyn spare him a look for a brief second. 

 

“Madam President, if and when the war in Bialya occurs, what side will the U.S. be on? Should we be rooting for the rebels or the prime minister?” Nate asks.

 

Barry watches as all the journalists in the room eagerly await her response and he does his best to appear as if he, too, was eager to hear her stance.

 

“There’s no guarantee of a war. There isn’t even a war at the moment.” Iris responds. “Why should we choose a side to war that does not even exist.” Iris responds, remaining loyal to her morals.

 

“What the president means is until we have gathered more information on the happenings over there, it won’t be possible for us to make a decision.” General Lane adds.

 

If looks could kill, General Lane would be buried 6 feet in his casket already. “There will be no decision while there’s no war. Ask me again in a few weeks.” she says, putting an end to that debate. They move onto the next question, with General Lane and Mr. Merlyn both looking a bit displeased.

 

**. . .**

 

At the end of the interview, after all cameras have been shut off, Barry lingers behind Nate as he goes to greet his best friend’s father. 

 

“Mr. Merlyn! What a surprise seeing you here! I didn’t know you did politics?” he addresses the older man with a handshake and lots of enthusiasm.

 

“Well, you know me Nate, I’m a very versatile man!” Merlyn shakes the younger man’s hand with his left hand as he pats his back with the other. He then turns to face him. “Why, hello there Mr. Allen. I do hope your enjoying your new job?” he gives him a toothy grin. One that Barry tries to return, but ends up looking a bit forced.

 

Barry nods. “Yes. Thank you, sir.” he replies simply. 

 

Malcolm’s eerie smile grows wider for a moment, before he turns his attention towards Nate. “Hey Nate, why don’t I introduce you to my good pal General Sam Lane.” he begins, as he puts an arm around the younger man, turning him away from Barry. 

 

“Yeah, sure!” Nate gleefully agrees, as Merlyn turns back to look at Barry and mouths the words  _ talk to her. _

 

Barry’s eyes search for her in the huge, actually ovaled shaped office. He easily spots her. She appears to be finishing up a conversation with some of the people who he believes are in charge of foreign policy or something like that.

 

This was his chance. 

 

Quickly, he grabs a glass of wine from one of the waiters, who gives him a wary look, and swiftly makes his way towards her.

 

Right on time, it seems, given that the people she was talking to had just walked away.

 

He heads to stand next to her. “Hey!” he says, and apparently she hadn’t heard him approach her, because she jumps slightly as soon as he spoke.

 

“Sorry!” Barry instantly apologizes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” he’s really bad at this. He’s embarrassed.

 

“Well aren’t you sneaky.” she comments as her brown eyes then focus on the glass of red wine in his hand, before looking back up to meet his eyes. “I hope you didn’t come here to spill that on me.”

 

Barry looks down at the drink in his hand and chuckles awkwardly, “Oh no, no- I, uh, brought this for you. As a peace offering.”

 

He holds it out for her to get it. Iris eyes the drink again. “Thanks.” she says, though she doesn’t take the drink. “But I don’t drink from a glass unless given to me by one of my waiters.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” he retracts the glass back towards him.

 

Iris snorts slightly, “Don’t pout. It’s nothing personal, Mr. Allen. Just safety protocol I have to follow.” 

 

From the corner of his eye, he can see Sara and another secret service woman glaring at him. “Oh, I suppose that explains why your secret service people are shooting holes through my head.”

 

Iris turns back to look at them, holding a hand up as a gesture for them to stand down. “Yeah.” she replies. “Like I said, safety protocol.”

 

Barry chuckles, “Right.” he says.

 

He’s nervous. He doesn’t know why. All he knows that he needs to stop being so nervous before he blows his damn cover. It doesn’t help though, that the president’s intense eyes were on him, studying him. 

 

“Is there something that you need, Mr. Allen?” Iris questions curiously, her arms folded as she observes the taller man before her. “There are plenty of people here would wish to speak to me, as well.”

 

Barry looks around and sure enough, there were a handful of people glancing back and forth at them, waiting for him to leave. “Oh, right.” he smiles, seeming a bit self conscious as he scratches the back of his neck. “I just wanted to say that you did great out there.”

 

The president nods and hums, “Well, I hope you and your team can get a good article out of it.”

 

Barry smiles again, this time, it felt a bit more sincere than the last couple of ones. Iris instantly notices that. “Will do!” he tells her.

 

She studies him for a few more seconds, before moving on to the next person. Well, he doesn’t look Russian to her. So maybe he’s not a Russian Spy? Maybe.

 

Hm. She supposes he isn’t  _ as  _ irritating as she thought. At least not today.

 

**. . .**

 

“Thanks Curtis, I owe you one buddy!”  Felicity exclaims, hanging up on her call with her I.T. guy, as she heads towards the Oval Office. He had just sent her this Barry Allen, guy’s personal information that he found after practically stalking him for the past two days. A background check. That’s what she’ll call it.

 

It is for safety reasons, after all. 

 

That’s why she was currently on her way to the Oval Office. The sooner they figure out whether or not that new reporter is a spy or not, the sooner they can put this behind them and not have to worry about anyone trying to sabotage Iris’ presidential term.

 

She opens the file as she rushes inside the entrance of the West Wing of the White House, well as fast as her high heels allow her to go, that is. 

 

_ Born in the U.S. _

 

Well that rules out her ‘he’s a Russian Spy’ theory. Hey, just because he isn’t Russian doesn’t mean he’s innocent though. He could still be a spy for all they know!

 

“Oh, wow, he really did attend Hudson University. How tragic.” she mutters to herself.

 

As a result of being too engraved in Barry Allen’s file, she wasn’t paying too much attention to where she was going. Which, unfortunately for her, led her to bumping into someone, causing her to drop the file of papers. 

 

“Oh crap!” she’s down on her knees immediately, trying to pick up the scattered papers before anyone realizes what they contain. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve watched where I was going.”

 

Suddenly, it’s as if time freezes upon hearing the individual she bumped into, let out a chuckle that she knew too well.

 

“I guess some things never change, do they?” the familiar voice speaks.

 

Felicity cringes. She definitely knows that voice.

 

_ Crap. _

 

She looks up. Sure enough, standing before her was the well-known nominee for Attorney General, Laurel Lance.

 

“Laurel?” Felicity rises from the ground, after having collected all the papers back inside the file. Her eyes are wide and honestly, she doesn’t know why she’s so shocked to see her. Iris did nominate her for attorney general not too long ago. It’s not like she didn’t expect to see her eventually, of course she did! It was inevitable, but she just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”

 

Despite the fact that she hasn’t seen her in years, the moment Laurel gives her that never-changing smile of hers, everything suddenly feels familiar. And it doesn’t get any better when Laurel softly says “Hi Felicity.”

 

_ Crap x2 _

 

**. . .**

 

“How’s Frosty’s friend doing?” is the first thing he hears as soon as he picks up the phone. “I saw the interview today. We need to get her to support the war.”

 

“I was watching them interact earlier.” Merlyn replies as he gets into his limousine awaiting for him outside the White House. “President West doesn’t seem to hate him. Which is a good sign, because seems like that woman hates everyone! Did you see the way she cut off General Lane during the interview? Such a nasty woman.”

 

“Oh, I know.” Damian says. “Which is why Kenny boy needs to work faster. Get him to make her endorse the war. We  _ need  _ this war to happen, Merlyn.”

 

“Understood.” Malcolm responds before hanging up the call. 

 

He begins to dial Bart’s (?) number. Seems like he’s going to need to do a lot more than just seduce the president. Change of plans for him.

 

.

 


	5. The Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the feedback!!!

 

“Tell me, Bart, do you trust me?”

 

“What?” Barry looks from side-to-side; he’s not sure what he expected to hear, but the sudden question throws him off for a moment.

 

Malcolm Merlyn appears from behind, after closing the door of his office. He invited him over yesterday after President West’s interview. Apparently, there was some sort of ‘change of plans’. 

 

“I’m asking if you trust me, Bart.” Merlyn rephrases, as he makes his way behind his desk, before sitting down. “It’s not that hard of a question.” he scoots in.

 

“Barry, actually.” he corrects as he uncomfortably shuffles in his seat. When he sees Merlyn blink, appearing not to care much about knowing what his actual name is, he continues, “I- Of course I do. I-I mean, why wouldn’t I?”

 

Malcolm gives Barry an eerie smile, one that sends a chill running through the back of his spine. “Right.” he responds. “Well in case you had any doubts, let me just say- that you have no reason to not trust me. We’re the good guys here.”

 

“Yes sir.” Barry agrees mindlessly. He’s never really considered there to be any ‘good guys’ in the field of politics- but hey, he wasn’t about to disagree with the man who’s filling up his pockets.

 

“We’re just trying to do what’s best for this great country of ours, you understand that there’s nothing wrong with us wanting to do that, right?” 

 

“Yes sir.” Again, Barry can’t really say otherwise because for one, he genuinely doesn’t know and two, he’s not about to disagree with his main source of income. 

 

“Atta boy.” Merlyn mutters leaning back to rest against his chair; he begins to tap his index finger against the top of his desk, as if contemplating what to say next.

 

Barry clears his throat as the silence grows unnerving. He didn’t like the way Merlyn spoke to him as if he was an inferior. Even though Barry technically is knowledge-wise and money-wise, he’d still appreciate it if he would be treated as an equal. Of course, these are concerns that he doesn’t even think about sharing with his main source of income. 

 

“Allen, I know the original part of our deal was for you to snoop around and to seduce her, only for the story to then leak to the press, and thus get her impeached-” Merlyn breaks the silence, his heavy glare pokes holes through Barry.  _ Well, at least he remembers his last name.  _ “But we decided to switch things up a bit.”

 

Barry nods, trying to keep up with what the older man was asking of him, “Wait.. so you don’t want me to sleep with her, then?” he questions.

 

“Oh no, no, no. We still want you to have an affair with her.” Merlyn corrects as he leans forward, a blood-curdling smirk appearing on his face. “But- we also need someone to get close to her  _ romantically.”  _

 

Barry nearly chokes on his own saliva. “What?” he’s baffled. Seduce the president, he can do; once he manages to get over his guilt and nerves, that is. But forming an actual  _ (fake)  _ relationship, he didn’t know how to do any of that! He’s an escort not a romanticist! He doesn’t know the first thing about building a romantic relationship with another person!

 

“You see, Bart-”

 

“Barry…” he mutters in response.

 

Merlyn only waves him off as he continues, “-we need you to become somebody that she will talk about her day with. Somebody who she will rely on. Most importantly, somebody who’s opinion she will care about.”

 

“So, you don’t want to get her out of office as soon as possible, then?” Barry asks hesitantly, “I mean, I’m no expert on relationships, but I’m pretty sure they take some time to build up.”

 

Again, Merlyn waves him off, “Don’t be ridiculous Allen, of course we still want her out of office ASAP!” he snaps his fingers to add more enthusiasm. “But alas, the impeachment process is unfortunately a long one. Meaning that she will still have plenty of time to send our great country down the drain. And we can’t let her do that now can we?”

 

“No sir.” 

 

“Which is where you come in, son. Like I said become someone who’s opinion she values. That way, with your ‘opinions’ we will be able to influence whatever major executive decisions she makes.”

 

Barry internally groans, well it’s not like he has much of a choice but to expect- especially not after he’s used a lot of the money he’s been paid to make house renovations. “Consider it done.” he tells him.

 

Malcolm grins widely, “Excellent.” he says as he gestures for someone outside the glass doors of his office to come in. “How about you take our lovely president a bouquet of irises.” Barry turns and sees a man handing him a collection of purple flowers. “She’s a narcissistic woman, she’ll love them.”

 

Barry takes the flowers in his hands, “Oh- okay.” he replies. “I guess I should get going then?”

 

“One more thing Allen,” Malcolm interrupts him as he reaches towards one of the drawers on his desk, grabbing something out of it, before closing it. “When you see President West, be sure you give her this flashdrive.” he hands him a black SanDisk. “Tell her that an anonymous source mailed this to you so that you could write an article about it… blah, blah, blah… but then that you decided it would be best to show it to her first or something along those lines. The point is that you make sure the drive gets to her. Understood?”

 

Barry doesn’t even want to ask what’s in the drive- it could be a virus for all he knows. “Understood.” he responds.

 

**. . .**

 

“Zolomon is such a pig.” Felicity huffs as she enters the Oval Office, her attention focused on the iPad in her hands, as she taps away on the screen. 

 

“Don’t tell me he’s still insisting to meet with me.” Iris rolls her eyes. She’s in the middle of trying to handle the water crisis in Starling, she doesn’t have time to focus on that clown.

 

“Yup. Apparently, you’re refusal to meet with him is a ‘sign of tyrannic behavior’ and that you’re one step closer to bringing upon the ‘downfall’ of this country.” She flips the iPad towards Iris, giving her a glimpse of the many headlines that he was making. 

 

Iris scoffs as she shakes her head, “Hunter’s an idiot. Surely he knows the President of the United States is far too busy to hear out whatever ill-prepared foreign policy plan he has for me.” she states. “I have too much on my plate right now: the Starling water crisis, Waller breathing down my neck to make a decision about Bialya, and not to mention I’m waiting to see whether or not the senate will approve Ms. Lance’s nomination for Attorney General! I really don’t have any time to waste on him!”

 

Felicity’s eyes widen upon being reminded of Laurel’s confirmation hearing. “Was that today?” she questions, suddenly forgetting about Hunter Zolomon.

 

Iris eyes her friend, “Ms. Lance’s Attorney General Confirmation Hearing? Yeah, I’m actually watching it right now.” she points at the TV positioned behind Felicity with her pen. 

 

Felicity turns like a whirlwind, her attention suddenly engrossed towards the television. Sure enough, there in one frame of the television is Laurel Lance. She’s dressed in a gray pantsuit, her posture is absolutely straight, and her face is neutral as she allows for Senator Lord to voice his thoughts and critiques. “H-How’s it going for her?” the blonde asks, her eyes still glued on the Attorney General nominee. 

 

Iris’ eyes narrow suspiciously as she answers, “Fine. So far, she seems to have the majority of the senate on her side. Not long now before they vote.”

 

Felicity nods slowly, complete entranced by the sight of her. Even through a television screen, Laurel has a way of making her heart accelerate at incredulous speeds. She always has. “Oh, t-that’s great.”

 

“You’re stuttering.” Iris points out, her eyebrows raised high. 

 

Felicity doesn’t respond though, finding all of her attention to be on the blonde attorney general nominee. She’s still as gorgeous as ever in her eyes. She hasn’t aged at all. A small smile forms on her face when she notices the small crinkle that appears above her nose, in between her eyes, as Senator Lord voices his concerns regarding her taking such a position. Yeah, even after all these years- she’s still the same old Laurel.

 

The blonde press secretary is so entranced by the sight of Laurel, that she didn’t even notice when Iris creeps up towards her. “Oh my god!” Iris exclaims, she has that ‘accusive-smile’ on her face. “Don’t tell me you’re crushing on my Attorney General Nominee!” 

 

Felicity jumps in surprise as she notices that Iris was now standing right besides her, wearing a smug expression. She folds her arms defensively as she scoffs, “What?!” she chuckles uncomfortably. “No, I do not! First of all, the fact that you’ve implied that I, a middle-aged woman, am out here ‘crushing’ on someone is just ridiculous. I mean what are we? Twelve?!”

 

Iris ignores her attempts to dodge the question as she mirrors her stance, folding her arms as well. “Well  _ middle-aged woman,  _ tell that to your face!” she points out the pink flush that appeared just moments ago. “You like her, don’t you?” Iris’ eyebrows wiggle slightly.

 

Again, Felicity scoffs. “No! Don’t be ridiculous! I mean, Laurel’s a straight woman, for one, so it’s not like I’d have much of a chance if I did- which I don’t, by the way!”

 

The dark-haired woman shrugs slightly, “I mean, how would you know? I thought yesterday was the first time you met her?” she asks.

 

Felicity’s eyes avoid hers for a moment, “Right.” she lies, hopefully not too obviously. 

 

Iris hums as she gives her a suspicious look, but before she can further question her friend, the blonde ends up changing the topic. “Anyways, that’s not important! What  _ is  _ important though, is Zolomon. I mean, what do you want me to do? I was thinking I’d go out and have a press briefing, shut him down or something?”

 

Iris picks up on her friend’s discomfort regarding the topic, so she decides to drop it, for now at least. “Do you think that would be a good idea? Like I said before, I don’t want to give him the attention he so desperately craves.” 

 

Felicity nods, “True. Any press is good press, we don’t want to give him any more platform than he already has.”

 

Felicity glances back towards the television screen once more, while Iris just stands there for a moment, giving her an  _ are-you-serious  _ look. She clears her throat, causing the blonde to rapidly turn her attention back towards Iris, ignoring the knowing look she was giving her. “Right! So I’ll just uh- talk about your plans to deal with the water crisis. No Zolomon, right?”

 

Iris nods, “No Zolomon.” She says firmly.

 

“Got it! No Zolomon.” Felicity awkwardly gives her a thumbs up as she makes her way out of Iris’ office. 

 

“Good luck!” Iris calls out as she makes her way back towards her desk, before sitting down. She sighs as she looks up at the Confirmation Hearing. She hopes at least that goes well.

 

**. . .**

 

Getting to the Oval Office proved itself to be quite the challenge for Barry. For one, he overestimated his abilities to be able to pass through security with a huge bouquet of irises in his hands. Apparently, the bouquet appeared “suspicious” because he was literally held back for about half an hour as they scanned through every centimeter of the bouquet to ensure that the president wasn’t allergic and to ensure that it wasn’t bugged. Then when he arrived outside the Oval Office, upon requesting if he could pay the president a visit, he was denied. According to the  Administrative Assistant, Iris was too busy. Needless to say, he didn’t get to see her until hours later, in the evening.

 

“This better be important, Mr. Allen.” Is the first thing he hears as he enters the dimly-lit office from the hallway entrance. He sees her sitting behind her umber-brown desk, her attention directed towards the paperwork above her desk. “Shawna tells me that you’ve been waiting for hours to speak to me. Apparently you claimed it to be urgent.”

 

Barry clears his throat as he approaches her desk, “Uh- yes, I did.” he speaks. He really should have rehearsed how to play this out. When she doesn’t look up or say anything back in response, he continues, “I brought these for you.”

 

Her eyes shift from the paperwork towards the bouquet of purple irises in his hands, before they land on him. She raises her eyebrows up, questioning his intentions with her expression.

 

Before she can ask, Barry beats her to it. “Don’t worry! It passed through security just fine so there’s no reason for you to be alarmed.” he explains.

 

Iris leans back slightly, folding her arms in the process of doing so. “I never said I was alarmed.” she says. “You really need to learn to not to over-explain things. Now,  _ that’s  _ definitely alarming.”

 

Barry avoids her gaze for a moment, feeling suddenly embarrassed by how nervous he’s behaving.  _ God, why is this a lot more unnerving than it is being an escort?  _ Perhaps it’s because he’s never had to rely on his words to do the ‘talking’. Before, he didn’t have to worry about choosing his words carefully to maintain a persona and now that he has to, he literally has no idea how to. 

 

“Right.” he breathes out. “I’m sorry.”

 

Iris hums, “Though the gesture isn’t alarming, I must say it is very unexpected.” she comments as she motions for him to hand them over. “What’s the occasion? I thought you had something ‘urgent’ to discuss with me.” 

 

“I hope you like them.” Barry says as he hands them towards her. “I was just thinking since my last attempt at a peace-offering didn’t really work out, that I would try something else. I-Is that okay?”

 

Iris observes the flowers briefly before turning her attention towards Barry. She takes notice of his fingernails slightly digging into the palms of his hands.  _ Is he nervous?  _

 

“They’re pretty flowers.” she says as she grazes her fingers on the purple-yellow mixed petals. “What kind are they?”

 

Barry chuckles as he scratches the back of his neck, before responds, “It’s cheesy, I know. But when I came across them, I thought of you. They’re irises.”

 

“Huh, well isn’t that such a cliché?” she points out, though there’s a hint of a smile on her expression.

 

“Oh, is it? I’m sorry. I can take them back if you don’t like them.” Barry instantly apologizes, shuffling awkwardly to retrieve the bouquet of flowers back. 

 

Iris pulls them back slightly, “I didn’t say that.”

 

“Oh, so it’s okay then?”

 

“Well, it is a peace offering, right?” 

 

Barry chuckles slightly as he nods, “Yeah- for that other day when you know, me bumping into you and the drink-”

 

“You’re doing it again.” Iris points out. 

 

“Right.” Barry exhales, “Sorry.”

 

His eyes make their way towards her, expecting to see judgement written all over expression. Instead, she appears slightly intrigued. He holds her gaze for a moment, soaking in her appearance; she seems tired- which is to be expected, she  _ is  _ the president of this country after all. Still, he feels something- perhaps it’s remorse- as he stares into her tired, yet captivating brown eyes.

 

“Uh, you said you had something urgent to show me?” Iris is the one to break the silence. 

 

‘Right!” Barry instantly snaps out of it as he begins to pat down on himself, in search for the location where he had stored the flash drive Merlyn ordered him to show her. “Just need to find it-”

 

It takes him a few seconds before he’s finally able to locate the flash drive in his back pocket. “This was-uh, mailed to me earlier. They wanted me to write an article about what’s happening in-  _ this  _ drive,” Perhaps he should have looked at the flash drive before giving it to her, or at least asked what was inside of it, that way he’d at least have an idea about what to say. “But I figured, I’d let you look at it first before writing  _ that  _ article…” he trails off.

 

Iris hestitantly grabs the drive, as she turns to eye him carefully in attempts to read his expression. It’s a vague attempt, she can’t really tell if he’s nervous because he’s giving her something that he’s not supposed to or if it’s because he’s just a nervous person in general. What if that drive contains a virus? Or if it gives enemies access to information that only she should know? 

 

_ Stop.  _ She says to herself. She can’t go around making these assumptions about him just because of their first rocky encounter. There’s really no reason for her to doubt him, especially not after having Felicity call someone to look into him  _ twice _ . His records came out squeaky clean. Maybe that’s what worries her- how clean his records are? Isn’t that suspicious? 

 

“Thank you.” Iris holds the drive up. “I will look into this with my Chief of Staff.” she tells him, because for one, although she has no reasons to not trust him- it’s still better to be safe rather than sorry.

 

“Yes. Uh, I hope what’s in that drive will be useful to you.” Barry comments, not really sure what else to say. He was kind of hoping that she would look into it right away, because well, his job  _ was  _ to make sure that she looked at it. 

 

Iris nods in response, before pulling open a drawer in her desk and sliding the drive inside. “We shall see, then.” 

 

“If it’s okay with you, would you mind letting me know your thoughts about what’s in the drive?” Barry blurts out. When she gives him a puzzled expression, he proceeds to elaborate. “I mean, so I can know if whether or not to continue writing the article that… the anonymous source… wanted me to write.” 

 

Iris smiles at him, Barry instantly notices that this is the first time he’s been able to bring out another expression that wasn’t a scowl or a polite one. She has a nice smile. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” she tells him.

 

**. . .**

 

_ “Earlier today, the Senate confirmed President West’s nominee, Laurel Lance to be the next Attorney General of the United States with a 55-43 vote.”  _ the news anchor’s voice echoes the room. Despite the tiring day, Iris holds her head up with pride as she watches through the television screen. She’s content; there’s no one better for the job than her.

 

“Oh, she got approved?!” Felicity exclaims, wide-eyed, as she enters the Oval Office with Cisco following behind.

 

“Cheers to that!” he adds.

 

Iris mutes the television as she nods, “Yeah, looks like you’ll be seeing a lot of Ms. Lance around, huh.” she raises her eyebrows suggestively at her as she snorts. 

 

Felicity glares at her in response as Cisco’s eyes shift back and forth between the two. “Uh, I feel like I’m missing something here?” he comments.

 

“Nope. Nothing.” Felicity says before Iris can respond. “Besides, we’re not here to talk about that…. Uh, why are we here exactly?”

 

“Did you bring your laptop?” Iris questions as she rises from her chair.

 

“Yeah.” Felicity responds as she holds up a silver macbook. “What for?”

 

Iris holds up the black flash drive. “Barry gave me this earlier. He said it was ‘urgent’ for me to see this.” she says as heads towards them. 

 

“Wait, who’s Barry?” Cisco questions, as he moves to the side, allowing for Iris to stand in between them as she inserts the drive into the laptop as it turns on.

 

“Barry? As in Barry Allen?” Felicity asks, this time it’s her who has eyebrows raised towards Iris. “As in the guy who you told me to look into?”

 

“Still don’t know who that is..?” Cisco points out, still puzzled.

 

“Guy who made me spill the wine on myself.” Iris responds as she hands Felicity her laptop. “Unlock your laptop.”

 

“Oh, right!” the blonde exclaims as she begins to type in an extremely long password.

 

Cisco hums, “So you called us in here because of flash drive some journalist gave you? Couldn’t you have used your laptop?” 

 

Iris takes the laptop back in her hands once Felicity is done typing out the password. “He said he received this anonymously. And well, you can’t be too careful. For all I know, whoever sent this to him could have planted a virus or something so they could access the information in my laptop.”

 

“So we’re just going to let my laptop get a virus then?” 

 

Iris snorts, “You’re telling me you don’t have like five more laptops back home?”

 

She nods, “Point taken.”

 

“So what exactly are you expecting to find on the drive?” Cisco questions as a white bar appears on the screen. A blue line begins to move across it, indicating that the data is synching. 

 

“Well, we’re about to find out.” Iris responds.

 

Eagerly, they all gather around the laptop, as the blue line slowly moving across the white bar. It could not load any slower.

 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a file of pictures appear on the screen; one that leaves their mouths hanging low.

 

“Oh my god.” Iris breathes out in disbelief. 

 

“Are those- from Bialya?” Cisco’s expression falls as his eyes scan the pictures on the screen. 

 

On the screen, there are endless pictures of dozens of women and children covered in blood- some of them appear to be dead. 

 

“Where did these pictures come from? I haven’t heard anything about it. Not from Waller. The Generals. Nobody.” Iris feels her muscles getting tense as she scrolls through the gallery that contained footage of the countless lifeless bodies. “We need to do something about this- is Barry still here? We need to know the source from these pictures before we take any action.”

 

Felicity shakes her head, “I believe everyone from the press corps has left already.” she responds.

 

“Well have him meet me in the morning!” Iris feels lightheaded. How could this have happened without her knowing? “We need to figure out who sent him these pictures.”

  
  



	6. The Envelope

****

In the short while that he’s been here, Barry truly believes he’s managed to become much better at selling this role he was assigned. For instance, now that he currently finds himself standing in the Oval Office, across from the President, Vice President, and Press Secretary of the United States, the fact that he has yet to scurry away in fear is a good sign for him!

 

Though, he appears much more collected than usual, that still doesn’t stop his pounding heart and sweating hands from trying to give him away. “I apologize, Madam President.” he repeats for what feels like the hundredth time already. “But I truly don’t know where those pictures originated from!” 

 

Upon arriving to work earlier today, he was notified that the president wished to speak with him immediately. At first, he had thought that she was finally getting fond of him since he had brought her those iris flowers. As he should have suspected though, this call had nothing to do with how she felt about him; she was curious about the source behind those photos in the drive that Merlyn had made him give her- well, she and her VP, and her Press Secretary. 

 

“But you said the drive was mailed to you.” Iris points out, her brown eyes leered on him like a hawk. “Surely, there must have been an address on the envelope.”

 

Barry keeps his eyes on hers, not wanting to look away in fear of giving himself away. “There was no return address.” he shrugs casually. 

 

“See!” Cisco exclaims, standing behind the desk, right besides where Iris is sitting, “If we can’t confirm if the source is reliable, then there’s no way we can make any decisions regarding the war.”

 

Barry refrains his eyes from jumping out of his head; _maybe_ , _he_ _should have taken a peak of the drive- that way he at least wouldn’t appear too surprised by discovering what it contained._ Something about the war?

 

“But what if they are reliable and instead of taking any action to help those in need, we’ll be too busy looking for a source that’s most likely untraceable at this point.” Felicity adds, standing on the other side of Iris, behind her desk as well.

 

“Nothing’s untraceable.” Iris simply responds as her eyes shift from the blonde back towards Barry, “Do you still have the envelope?” 

 

Digging himself further in a lie, Barry continues, “Uh- I’m sure it’s somewhere in my office.” he thinks back to that cramped little compartment he has; surely, that’s a believable response? “I can just go look for it and then get back to you?” he tries as he begins to take a few steps back, in attempts to get out the door. He could easily create a fake envelope in the meantime.

 

“No need.” Iris says, halting him. She then turns to face Cisco. “Get Sara to escort everyone out from the offices. Barry and I will be searching for the envelope and it’ll be much easier to do that without any of those nosy reporters breathing down our necks.”

 

Any improvements Barry had made at keeping his cool are suddenly out the window. “Y-You’re tagging along?” he questions.

 

Iris’ eyes narrow on him, “Would that be a problem, Mr. Allen?” her voice grows stern and he’s suddenly reminded that it is  _ her  _ who calls the shots here.

 

“No!” Barry responds too quickly, holding his hands up defensively. “I mean, it’s no trouble really! I could easily go and search my office without causing all this unnecessary chaos.”

 

There’s something at that moment that catches him off guard. When she rises from her chair and navigates her way around her desk, invading his space, he catches himself becoming completely and utterly breathless. He’s not too sure what exactly caused that: his fear of getting caught or the fact that her near presence is just so captivating. Though she stands nearly a head shorter than him, the power she emits carries her above him. Whether it be fear or not, he can’t deny that she truly is admirable.  _ If only she was a good person,  _ the voice in his head (which happens to sound like Malcolm Merlyn’s) reminds him.

 

“The decision I make about this damn war all comes down to whether or not these pictures are reliable.” Iris starts, holding her head high as she speaks. “The decision that I make can and will affect not just Bialya and the United States, but it will affect the way other countries react and get involved in the war. So yes, Mr. Allen, I believe this ‘chaos’ that you speak of, is completely necessary.”

 

Barry does his best to refrain himself from appearing completely clueless about what she’s talking about. He also does his best to refrain himself from noticing how stunning she is- not that he didn’t already know that, but- it’s harder to not notice when she’s standing so close.

 

“Got it?” is the last thing that comes out of her mouth before her intense gaze mesmerizes him to the point where he can only nod dumbly in response. 

 

“Great!” Iris exclaims as the corner of her lips slightly rises up a bit before turning her attention back to her two friends and co-workers. “Cisco, can you get Sara to clear the offices?”

 

Cisco takes a moment to adjust his tie as he clears his throat, “Consider it done, Madam President.” he says as he makes his way out.

 

Iris’ attention then shifts towards Felicity, “Get Shawna to reschedule some of today’s plans for me. Tell her I’m meeting with Waller to discuss potential war strategies. Since Waller is out today, this works.” she then discreetly hands her the flash drive before leaning in to whisper, “Also see if you can get your friend to find out anything about these pictures.”

 

The blonde nods, “Cancel plans, lie about whereabouts, call Curtis. Got it!” she chirps before she, too, heads out the Oval Office.

 

Once they are the only two left inside, Iris turns back to look at him. “As for you and I.” she says as she strolls past him with her arms crossed. His body follows her direction. “We have an envelope to search for.”

 

In that moment, Barry feels relieved because of two reasons: 1. He’s glad that he is finally able to breathe normally again, after she has left his personal space and 2. He’s also really glad that she has her back faced towards him that way she can’t see the horrid, panicked expression that he’s currently wearing.

 

**. . .**

 

“For the  _ last _ time Shawna,” Felicity makes sure to put an emphasis on the word ‘last’. “I don’t know why President West and Waller decided that  _ now  _ would be a good time to discuss potential war strategies, just like I don’t know  _ where  _ they have gone to discuss this, and I don’t know  _ how  _ to get in contact with her at the moment because she has turned off her cellphone.”

 

The curly-haired woman eyes her as if saying that she doesn’t completely believe her as Felicity pulls out her phone. “Fine, don’t believe me? Here let me prove it.” she dials Iris’ phone and when the phone rings only once, before sending her straight to voicemail, she continues. “You see! President West is currently unavailable.”

 

“Well, that’s disappointing.” a familiar assertive tone from a voice that Felicity knows all too well, takes her by surprise- causing her jump up like a startled cat before she turns around to face her. Laurel. “I was told that President West wished to speak to me today at precisely,” she looks down at her watch, 9:00 A.M. “Now.” 

 

Shawna gives Felicity an exaggerated smile before turning to face the taller blonde, “Perhaps Ms. Smoak would like to inform you of the situation, given that I suddenly have a few phone calls to make because of it!” she mutters bitterly before heading back to her office.

 

As soon as the dark-haired woman is out of sight, Laurel’s eyes are back on Felicity. She doesn’t say anything, waiting for her to explain the situation to her.

 

Felicity chuckles nervously, “Well, you see the thing is- something urgent came up and President West and Waller were sucked into an important meeting to discuss the said-urgent thing…” her voice trails off. For someone who has always been extremely good when it comes to talking her way out of things, for some reason, her ability to do that always seems to vanish when under a specific gaze: Laurel’s.

 

Laurel hums, “Well, can you please tell President West to contact to me whenever this  _ urgent  _ thing is settled?” she requests as she slightly tugs her gray blazer a bit in attempts to adjust it. 

 

“Of course.” she nods in response.

 

When the atmosphere around them grows thick, Laurel finds herself muttering an ‘excuse me’ as she attempts to make her way out.

 

“How have you been?!” Felicity ends up blurting out before Laurel manages to leave. The shorter blonde cringes a bit at the suddenness of that question. “I mean, it’s been over a decade since we last saw each other so I was just wondering.” After going their separate ways when graduating from university, they failed to keep in contact with each other, especially when they would remember how things had played out for them.

 

Though surprised, Laurel’s lips curl up a bit. “I’ve been well.” she replies simply.  _ Same, old Laurel; keeping herself reserved and her answers short and sweet.  _

 

Felicity’s eyes make their way to the third finger on her left hand and is greeted by a sparkle. “I can tell.” she says before her eyes make their way back up to her. She won’t lie: she wasn’t exactly too happy upon hearing about Laurel’s marriage to Governor Diaz about ten years ago. At the same time, it wasn’t her place to impose- especially not after falling out of touch with her.

 

Instantly, Laurel hides her left hand behind her as she clears her throat. “We’re not really together anymore.” she says cautiously, her gaze boring into the woman standing across from her. “We’ve been keeping it on the low, but divorce files aren’t too far away from our future-”

 

“You don’t owe me any explanations.” Felicity is quick to remind her once she notices the discomfort in her tone. 

 

Laurel lets out a deep exhale, “I know.” she breathes out. “It’s just-” She appears to struggle to form words. “Weird.” she decides on as she gestures back in forth between them. “You know…”

 

“Yeah.” Felicity nods as she gives her a weak smile. “I know.” she uses her words. Though a part of her has always wished things had turned out differently for them, there’s nothing that she can really do about it now. What has happened, happened. “But it doesn’t have to be, right?”

 

Laurel gives her a curious look, before allowing for her to continue. “I mean, you and I- we were so long ago.”

 

Laurel’s eyes dart around the hall, making sure there was no one in sight. Felicity smiles sadly as realization dawns upon her;  _ yup, same old Laurel. Always concerned about her image.  _

 

“Yes.” Laurel whispers back. “We were.”

 

“Exactly, so there’s no reason for us to be weird about it.” Felicity assures her. “We both studied to be a part of this field; I think we both knew it was only a matter of time before we’d end up working alongside one another.”

 

“Yeah.” Laurel agrees with a nod. “I just didn’t expect to still-” she pauses as a wave of panic flashes through her expression before she’s able to pull herself together. “Nevermind. You’re right. We both knew this was inevitable and we’re both professionals. There’s nothing to be weirded out by.”

 

Felicity also nods, “Right.” she complies. 

 

And for a moment, they fall into silence as their gazes remain locked on one another. Felicity can’t deny it, a part of her still  _ really  _ finds the woman before her completely breathtaking. She just wants to melt under her gaze. 

 

When the air becomes too thick again, Laurel ends up clearing her throat. “Well, I suppose I should be going then.”

 

“Right.” Felicity repeats, trying not to appear disappointed by that.

 

“Please tell President West that I would like to hear from her as soon as possible.” Laurel adds as she begins to slowly walk backwards, her eyes still glued onto the shorter blonde with glasses. 

 

“Will do!” Felicity exclaims, as she watches her walk away, as expected.

 

However, what she didn’t expect is for Laurel to give her one of those smiles that reveal those adorable dimples, a sight she hasn’t seen in a long time. Felicity is left breathless as Laurel completely turns around and begins to make her way out. 

 

As she watches her go, Felicity finds herself mirroring the taller woman’s smile against her better judgment. 

 

**. . .**

 

“Your office is a mess.” is the first thing Iris points out upon leading her towards his compartment. Sure enough, there was a Big Belly Burger wrapper all crumpled up on the corner of his small desk from last night, along with dozens of unorganized papers. In his defense, he wasn’t necessarily used to having to be neat and organized. 

 

“Well, given that there’s hardly enough space for us to even move in here, I’d say it’s quite decent.” he doesn’t know where the sudden bravery of his response came from, but he’s not mad at his response. 

 

_ Huh, maybe he really is getting better at this. _

 

Iris turns, giving him a quick glare. “There’s a crumpled, burger wrapper on your desk.” she points out.

 

Barry huffs, “Fine. Point taken.”

 

Iris smiles a bit at that. “So, where’s the envelope?” 

 

Barry pretends to look through all the papers on his desk. “Hmm, I could’ve sworn I left here last night.” he says, remaining calm now that he has come up with a plan to get her to drop the subject. As they were walking towards the offices, he recalled that there was a small trash can located near his desk, so he’s going to make it seem as if the envelope accidentally got thrown out. 

 

After a while, he lets out a small gasp, “Oh no!” 

 

Iris furrows her brows, “What is it?” she questions with her arms folded. 

 

He wears his best disappointed expression as he turns to look at her, “Yesterday, when I rushed on over here to show you the drive, I think I remember hearing a paper fall as I scooted out of my desk.” When Iris’ eyes shift towards the floor, he continues. “Most likely next to this trash can by my desk.” he points at the silver can standing at the corner of his desk. “What if the janitors thought it had fallen out of the trash and threw it away?”

 

Again, Iris crosses her arms as her brows go up. “So, you’re telling me that you think the janitors might’ve accidentally thrown it away?” Though it sounds possible, she can’t help but feel as if it’s too convenient. 

 

“Yes!” Barry exclaims, hoping she believes it.

 

Still, it takes her a moment to comprehend what he was telling her. “So, what you’re saying is…” she starts again, her eyes darting towards the trash can and his desk. “The janitors threw away the envelope but somehow managed to leave your trash-” she gestures towards the crumbled wrapper. “Untouched.”

 

Barry shrugs, “I don’t know, they’re  _ your  _ employees!”

 

Iris has to remind herself that she has no reason  _ not  _ to trust him. She reminds herself that she’s most likely just letting what happened the first time they met cloud her judgment. Barry was already proven to be who he says is twice, there’s nothing to be suspicious about!

 

She looks up at him and finds him already looking back at her. The longer she stares into his light eyes, the more she convinces herself that he is not her enemy. He works for her, meaning that they’re on the same side, meaning that she has to trust him in order if she wants to keep herself at peace- without having to stress too much over him as she has been doing lately. Barry hasn’t really given her any reason not to trust him, he’s actually proven himself to be quite nice. A little annoying at times and a bit klutzy, but really nice. It’s quite endearing, actually.

 

Iris sighs, “Well, I guess there’s only one thing to do then.”

 

**. . .**

 

“This is so not what I had in mind!” Barry whisper-yells as he and Iris make their way towards the dumpsters, located at quite a lengthy distance away from the West Wing.  _ Seriously,  _ when Iris had told him to meet her in the Oval Office after hours, he had expected that they would start investigating a different lead to find who the “source” is. But as it turns out, the president had a surprisingly, different plan.

 

“Quit whining!” Iris scolds in a hushed voice. This is the most casually-dressed he’s seen her since he’s met her. Usually, she’s either in a pantsuit or a plain dress or anything relatively professional in his eyes. This time, though, she’s dressed in a black t-shirt and black tights so that ‘she wouldn’t be spotted’. It definitely showcases a new side of her.

 

The stench becomes stronger and stronger with every step they take. “I already had Sara patrol the place to make sure no one was around but that still doesn’t mean you get to be loud!” 

 

Sara’s been doing a lot of things that one isn’t typically supposed to do as a member of the Secret Service, but it seems like she really likes Iris a lot to trust her to know what she’s doing or maybe Iris could be blackmailing her for all he knows! He makes a mental note to ask her about that later.

 

“Are you sure this is really necessary, I mean it’s just an envelope!” Barry can’t help but continue to whine.

 

Iris huffs, “Look, I know it’s stupid but it’s all we have from the individual or individuals who sent those pictures.” she reasons. “And I just texted Felicity and she told me that it might take Curtis some time before he can figure out the reliability of those photos. And that’s something I don’t have: time.”

 

At this point, Barry really wishes he had taken a peek at what those images in the drive were. Maybe, he’d be able to understand where she was coming from a little better if he did. “I get that.” he says, despite his knowledge of the subject. “But seriously, are you, the President of the United States, really that desperate enough to dumpster dive for something that might turn out to be insignificant in the end?”

 

He  _ really  _ didn’t want to do this.

 

“Yes.” Iris doesn’t even hesitate as she eyes the disgusting, rectangular-shaped bin. 

 

“Seriously, what’s an envelope with no return address going to do? What help does that give us?” He’s actually growing a bit frustrated at this. 

 

“It’s something.” Iris responds. She’s really contemplating about jumping in to look.

 

Barry hums, “I really doubt that.”

 

“Maybe, we can use the stamps to track down from which postal office it was mailed from?” Iris tries, attempting to cling onto any string of hope remaining. “That’s something?”

 

“Madam President-” Barry tries, but ultimately gets interrupted.

 

“I’m going in.” she says.

 

This is probably one of those moments that Malcolm Merlyn would probably like for him to encourage. For one, she’s not clearly thinking straight at the moment, too desperate to cling onto a sheer bit of hope. This is good- or at least, it should be good for him. Barry can easily just step aside and allow for her to dive into the dumpster, as he discreetly snaps some pictures of her. Then he could send them to Merlyn who would probably sell them to the media with some story about how the President of the United States is probably on something and can use that to prove how unfit she is to be the leader of the free world. 

 

He should be encouraging this, but yet- he can’t bring himself to.

 

“Don’t.” he tries again.

 

He doesn’t want  _ her  _ to do this either. It just seems like too much.

 

“Barry, you saw those pictures.” Iris turns to look at him; for a brief moment, he thinks he catches sight of tears in her eyes. However, she blinks a few times and they’re gone in no time. “All those rows of women and children, all dead. There was so much blood.” she takes a moment to collect herself before continuing. “When I first saw those images, my initial response was to send out an attack. I wanted to  _ avenge,  _ I guess you can say, all those innocent lives that had been taken. But then I reminded myself that I couldn’t do that. I’m the president. I can’t be going around starting wars just because of some images an anonymous source sent me.” 

 

She shakes her head, “You’d be surprised how easy it is to fake things in this day and age.”

 

_ Oh, he definitely knows.  _

 

“Which is why I need some sort of confirmation. Fast.” Iris proceeds as she lets out a heavy breath. “That way I can take action. If those pictures are, in fact, true then the sooner I find out the quicker I can put a stop to it. If I end up sending an attack and those pictures turn out to be fake, then I would be responsible for the start of the war  _ and  _ I’ll probably end up wasting millions of dollars because of it.”

 

_ For someone who’s supposed to be so cunning and power-driven, she sure as hell seems to care about how her actions impact the country.  _

 

_ Maybe she’s a really good actress?” _

 

“I need some sort of confirmation.” she repeats and begins to cling onto the dumpster.

 

Though this is something that he should let happen and do exactly what Merlyn would want him to do, he just can’t bring himself to let her do it. 

 

He grabs her hands, stopping her from jumping in. “Please don’t.” he insists.

 

“Barry-”

 

And before he can think it through, the words, “I lied!” come tumbling out of his mouth.

 

Disbelief runs through Iris’ expression. “What?” she breathes out.

 

And he doesn’t know how he’s going to get out of this one.

 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I have an idea of how many chapters it's going to be now.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, hope you enjoy the update!


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